Big move for Bulls

By Lachlan Ellis

The availability of a new turf wicket has allowed a Moorabool cricket club to change leagues, which its president says is a move that’s been wanted for decades.

The Bacchus Marsh Cricket Club announced on 28 July that the club had been officially accepted into the Ballarat Cricket Association (BCA) for the upcoming 2023-24 season, thanks to the works taking place at the Bacchus Marsh Racecourse and Recreation Reserve.

Club President David Kraljik said it was an exciting time for the club, following a special general meeting that saw the move unanimously approved.

“We’re really excited, it’s going to be a really exciting transition into that turf world of cricket I guess, which we’ve been as a club talking about for at least the last 20 years. We’ve been talking about a turf wicket, but never really had the opportunity to develop a turf wicket within Bacchus Marsh until now,” Mr Kraljik told the Moorabool News.

“We’ve had talks with Ballarat in the past but haven’t been able to entertain moving to that competition, since we didn’t have a turf wicket. One of the criteria for clubs in their A Grade competition is to have a turf wicket available. It’s been two years of serious talks really with the BCA.”

Mr Kraljik believes the move to the BCA from the Gisborne & District Cricket Association (GDCA) will bring a range of benefits for the Bulls.

“We see it as a higher standard of cricket certainly. It’s also a great opportunity to attract and retain quality players, including players currently at the club, and just improve the standard of cricket generally throughout all of our grades. Also, being a turf competition, it makes the club more attractive for players to come back to, that have maybe moved to play cricket in Melbourne or elsewhere,” he said.

“It also gives opportunity for our juniors and our women’s side to play on turf, which everyone wants to do. It gives them the option to be able to play that higher standard of cricket and develop.”

The move to the BCA will allow the Bulls to take on not just strong Ballarat clubs such as Napoleons-Sebastopol and Ballarat-Redan, but also the crosstown Darley Lions, in what is sure to be a great rivalry.