Feedback sought on the region’s cricket future

PUBLIC feedback is being sought on the G21 and Cricket Victoria Barwon Regional Cricket Strategy.

The strategy has been developed by local government authorities within the G21 region in partnership with Cricket Victoria to guide the overall direction and development of the sport for the next 10 years.

Cricket is the majority user of outdoor playing fields across Barwon region during summer. Cricket participation for season 2016- 17 was the highest in country Victoria, with 5,718 participants playing with 66 clubs at 155 grounds.

The G21 and Cricket Victoria Barwon Regional Cricket Strategy focuses on the built “on-field” elements of the game, including facilities and infrastructure, as well as “offfield” components such as sport development, policy and planning, and the governance and management of cricket across the region.

Development of the strategy has identified five key priorities which will guide future direction, underpinned by objectives and actions that can be implemented at the local level:
• Develop an aligned and collaborative structure to manage cricket
• Grow cricket, its range of activities, club capacity and profile across the Barwon region
• Maximise the capacity and activation of existing sites and align new facilities with future need and demand
• Deliver and activate a Regional Cricket and Community Centre, and
• Secure stakeholder support for strategy implementation.

The strategy notes that cricket participation in the G21 region has dropped in recent seasons, which is against the trend for the rest of Victoria.

It sets out a vision to reverse this by achieving “more cricket, played by more participants, across a diversity of programs and locations”.

“It’s alarming that cricket numbers are dropping in our region,” Geelong deputy mayor Peter Murrihy said.

“I think it’s partly because many people are giving cricket away in preference to a summer of pre-season football training.

“I’m aware of a local group who are advocating for a Geelong team in the Big Bash competition, and I’d like to see that feature prominently in the final version of this strategy. We are more than capable as a region of supporting a professional Twenty20 team, and it’s something we should be pushing strongly to achieve. This would have a big impact in encouraging local children to take up cricket and aspire to play at a high level.”