THE question of whether round one of the Bendigo District Cricket Association season will be rescheduled is still unresolved more than a month after it was due to be played.
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But my question is what makes round one of the BDCA season more important than any other and what Pandora’s box could be opened if it’s rescheduled, which is what clubs have this week been asked to vote on.
Following Bendigo’s wet September that played havoc with curators and their pitch preparations, the BDCA board made the early decision more than a week out to postpone the opening round of the 2016-17 season on October 8.
“We think it’s better to be cautious and give the grounds and the curators an extra week to be ready,” BDCA president Wayne Walsh said.
Play on October 15, which was meant to be the first of a two-day round two, was also called off because of the big wet.
So round two instead became a one-day match on October 22 when the season was finally able to get away to a start.
But what to do about round one?
The BDCA said from the outset when it postponed the first day of the season that it was keen to fit in round one somewhere to ensure a 13-round season is still played.
All well and good, but if round one is re-scheduled, what then happens if any of the other one-day rounds (December 17, January 7 and January 14) are also called off due to inclement weather.
Will they too be re-scheduled on a Sunday into what’s already a jammed calendar to ensure 13 rounds are played?
Which comes back to the question of what makes round one of the BDCA season more important than any other, for if it’s good enough for that round to be re-scheduled, shouldn’t the same apply for all rounds?
It’s not as though losing round one will cause unevenness in the draw given there’s 10 clubs and no bye, or that players are starved of cricket.
Take out October 8 and 15 and there’s still 19 days of home and away cricket, plus four days of finals cricket if you can get to the grand final, as well as at least four nights of Twenty20 cricket on the BDCA calendar.
Losing round one to the weather was unfortunate for all those who were champing at the bit to pull the whites back on.
But that’s cricket. It’s a game dictated to by the elements (rain, heat, smoke ect) – always has been, always will be.
Luke West – sports reporter
