GCA EYES SHAKE-UP
THE Geelong Cricket Association has flagged a major shake-up of the competition, but any restructure plans would likely not be introduced until 2022-23.
The plans include a potential move to a four-tier model.
The GCA has canvassed the views of some clubs in recent weeks and is putting the “finishing touches” to a document that will outline “format and structural change over the next couple of seasons”.
Format changes to accommodate two-day, one-day and T20 matches were put on hold for this season because of the pandemic.
GCA president Rob Vines said it had “been getting that work back on the table over the last few weeks” and expected the strategy to be released in the coming weeks.
He said the move from three divisions to a four-tier structure was “one of the possibilities that we’ve been having a look at”.
“The ability to create a fourth tier depends a lot on … what format of cricket they’d be playing and whether there’s some other standalone clubs that could potentially join up with some other clubs to form that new (fourth) division,” Vines said.
“We think you’d need a minimum of six but preferably eight teams in that tier.
“We have a pool of stand-alone clubs that sit outside the three existing tiers. We have six or seven stand-alone clubs — smaller clubs — that play in the 40-over one-day competition.
“They’d be the clubs that we need to talk to (but) we’d need to have more discussion with them about their interest (and) capacity to be involved in something like that.
“We’re addressing that in this document and you’ll see how we’re thinking about it when that document comes out.”
Currently GCA1 and GCA3 play with 10 teams and GCA2 with eight. Vines said eight-team divisions had “appeal”.
“There’s been no secret that eight-team competitions make a lot of sense, particularly the competitions that would have a mix of one and two-day cricket,” he said.
“Not every competition necessarily will have a mix of one and two-day cricket but the ones that have a mix of one and twoday cricket, the eight-team model, as we’ve seen in Division 2 over the last two seasons, enables you to have a more balanced and even fixture.”
He said most clubs would have been “expecting some change to be coming”.
“We’ve been preparing the ground for this the past 12 months or so,” he said.