End of two-day era

CFN to focus on shorter form competition

THERE will be no two-day matches on the Cricket Far North calendar this summer.

CFN president Peter Huey said there were several factors for dropping two-day cricket.

“Our representative cricket is just about all Twenty20s and one-day games, and we like to be strong at rep cricket,” he said.

“In January and February we get a lot of rain so often you can get incomplete matches if they are over two days.

“We are also a tourist town and player availability a factor.”

The season starts this Saturday with Twenty20 matches and cricket fans will notice a new club in the mix.

Tully and Innisfail’s cricket clubs have combined to create Cassowary Coast.

The new team will rotate home matches between the two communities.

Huey said the addition of a seventh club made it smart to drop two-day matches. becomes

“We’ll have a bye now so instead of a club missing two weeks in a row, they will only miss one week when they have a bye,” he said.

Most teams will play two Twenty20 matches this Saturday. Barron will play Atherton at 11am before facing United in the afternoon at Crathern Park. Rovers will host Mulgrave at Endeavour Park at 11am before backing up against Atherton in the afternoon.

Cassowary Coast will only play one match this Saturday – at Innisfail against Norths.

Norths will then drive back and play Mulgrave in a night match at Walker Road.

The first four Saturdays of the season will be played as Twenty20 matches, before shifting to one-day matches from October 13.

The Twenty20 grand final will be played on January 19.

Semi-finals will be played in the one-day competition on March 23, before moving to a best-of-three grand final format on March 24, 30 and 31 (if required). There will be 10 teams in second grade this year and nine in third grade.

“It should be another good season and having that extra team in first grade suggests that we’re doing all the right things,” Huey said.

“I know Atherton has lost a couple of key players, but they should be hard to beat, while a few other clubs have recruited well – or so I’ve been told.”