ST MARY’S-TYNTYNDER will begin their premiership defence against Ultima-TUF when round 1 of the Swan Hill District Cricket Association (SHDCA) A grade competition gets under way in a fortnight’s time.
The opening round of the A grade season will take place on Saturday, October 14, and will by a 40-over one-day fixture.
While St Mary’s-Tyntynder will go in as favourites in their season opener against the Roodogs, everyone’s attention will be on the performances of league newcomers Barham-Koondrook, who will host Nyah District, and Murrabit, who will host Woorinen.
The final match of the opening round will see last season’s wooden spooners Swan Hill host last year’s grand finalists Wandella, with RSL beginning their 2023-24 campaign with the bye.
While the A grade competition will get under nway on October 14, the expanded B grade competition will begin a week later, with the C graders set to start on Saturday, October 27.
The SHDCA junior competitions will begin alongside the A graders on October 13 and 14, with the under 11’s and under 16’s playing on Friday night and the under 13’s on Saturday morning.
SHDCA president Greg Cruickshank told The Guardian he and the regions’ cricketers were eagerly anticipating the start of a new season.
“I think this year will be very exciting because of the new teams that are entering the competition,” Cruickshank said.
“There’s going to be nine teams in A grade, 14 in B grade and there could be either six or seven in C grade.
“When Wandella came into our competition two years ago they were immediately competitive and played off in the grand final last season, and the two new clubs (Barham-Koondrook and Murrabit) are likely going to be just as strong, so that will be a real shot in the arm for our league.
“Nyah District, St Mary’s-Tyntynder, Woorinen and RSL have been the champion teams and the ones to beat over the past few years, but with a few extra teams that can take the challenge up to them, I think will be really good for the competition.”
The A grade season will begin with seven rounds of the 40-over Kookaburra Cup one-day competition, before moving into the T20 format.
The T20 competition will comprise seven rounds either side of the Christmas break and will include three weekends of double header games before the home-and-away season concludes with seven games of the 50-over competition, with all clubs to play six games and have one bye in each format.
