“It’s been pretty positive. We’ve got two extra teams in A Grade from last season, so that’s a win for us,” he said.
“BKSH wanted to come over to our association for more two-day cricket, because their format over there is only one-day cricket.
“It’s great to have another team join. You’re playing against 11 different blokes you haven’t played against before and you get to play at a different venue. It’s exciting for everyone I think.”
Combe said the association was still on the lookout for juniors keen to join its under-16, under-14 and under-12 competitions.
He also encouraged people considering umpiring to call him on 0400 810 772.
“More umpires are probably the biggest thing we’re still after, but other than that, there haven’t been too many headaches so far,” he said.
“The draw was also a battle, with a number of grounds being unavailable for the start of the season.
“We’re just keen for the season to get going, really. Everything has been put in place now and all the hard work has been done, now it’s the fun part – turning up and playing.”
Grampians Cricket
Grampians Cricket Association’s 2024-25 season will go ahead as planned, but president Matthew Dean said the competition’s long-term future was still uncertain.
The association hosted a crisis meeting with clubs in July to discuss the viability of the competition. Dean said clubs were keen to play this season, but with junior numbers still low and only one senior grade, there was no guarantee the association would continue beyond 2025.
“We’ve got six sides in A Grade this year. By all reports everyone is going to field a side, but we could be back having the same meeting at the same time next year with clubs to see where we’re sitting,” he said.
“We’ve asked clubs to think about starting to prepare for either a shift to another league or seeing if their players want to play cricket somewhere else.”
Dean said the association would trial a new schedule for juniors in an attempt to keep them more engaged.
“We’re trying to improve the under-16 competition. They were only playing one-dayers, which are 22 overs, which doesn’t give them much of a format to play a bit of cricket – it’s basically a T20,” he said.
“We’ve shuffled some days around so that they’ll sometimes play on a Friday night and Sunday afternoon to allow them to play 50 per cent one-dayers and 50 per cent two-dayers.”
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