Champ left disappointed after Country Week called off
MELBOURNE Country Week legend Brad Hauenstein says it is “extremely disappointing” the annual cricket carnival has been shelved for the second year running.
Following a committee meeting on Wednesday night, the Victorian Country Cricket League decided to cancel the February tournament after a group of regional competitions pulled out due to Covid.
In a statement, the VCCL said it was “not in the position to oversee guidelines and restrictions sufficiently to attain and maintain the required standards of safety”.
It cited issues with teams losing players mid-tournament, with usual country week conditions in which teams travel and get accommodation together a breeding ground of mass infections.
“Many associations across country Victoria are struggling to play scheduled home-andaway fixtures, so it seemed sound reasoning to not put extra loads on volunteer administrators by asking them to organise and support (and) field country week teams,” the VCCL said.
Hauenstein has been a fixture of the Geelong Cricket Association teams sent to carnivals over recent years and was part of the recruiting process for the GCA this summer.
He said many of Geelong’s best local cricketers had again put their hands up to represent the region and it was a shame they would not take the field.
“We had gone through the process of looking through all the divisions in Geelong and putting together a squad and it was shaping up quite nicely, but obviously where Covid has hit us again, it’s extremely disappointing,” he said.
“There was a lot of interest from the Geelong players so to not play is very disappointing.
“Basically the majority of the best players were certainly available.
“In past years we have had some overseas players play in the side, but from the perspective of where the side would be, we were happy with some experience and certainly some good young players who could have been involved.”
Hauenstein said it was unlikely the team would get together for any exhibition matches given Covid’s impact on the cricket schedule.