Bats have been oiled, new balls purchased, and stumps collected just in time for the start of the Goulburn District Cricket Association senior season today.
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In many ways, the beginning of the 2020/21 cricket season marks a new era in Goulburn cricket, as it is the first for nearly a decade that Tim Price will not lead the association.
His successor, Shane Munroe, along with vice presidents Dane Stevenson and Bob Smith, have big plans to continue building on the work done by Price in recent years.
In that spirit, a number of changes have been made ahead of today's opening matches.
Some were made through necessity, following the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, while others were made with an eye towards modernising local games.
Matches in 2020/21 will feature white balls and powerplays, to mirror those used in professional fixtures.
The powerplays will consist of 10 overs in one-day matches, and six overs in T20s.
Additionally, the T20 competition itself has also been extended this season, by popular demand of many players. Five rounds will be played, from November 28 to January 16, before the semi-finals start on January 23.
The regular season will be played on either side of the T20 competition, with the first round today and the tenth and final round set for February 27. The semi-finals will then start on March 6.
Along with changes to the layout of the competitions, large adjustments have been made to the structure. First and second grade have been combined, in response to both a lack of numbers in the former and impressive performances from teams in the latter.
A third grade competition will run, which will feature the remaining second grade teams from last season and newcomers the Marulan Mad Bulls. In total, 10 teams will take part throughout the season. During finals, the first and second grade competition will be split in two based on ladder placings.
The GDCA also intends to schedule night matches throughout the year, to make use of the new floodlights at Seiffert Oval and play the games in a more spectator-friendly time window. The dates of these fixtures are yet to be finalised.
New GDCA president, Shane Munroe, praised his fellow committee members for their input ahead of the season.
"Dane's done most of the work, to be fair," Munroe said.
"I've done a little bit, but Dane's done a lot of the real stuff, the COVID stuff, with Brad Ehrke and the umpires. It's been good to have his help, that's for sure."
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The numerous changes ahead of this season, Stevenson said, were made in order to continue the positive momentum the association has gathered in recent seasons.
"Pricey's done a magnificent job of getting us where we are, we just have to try and make it better than when we took it over," he said.
"That's the idea of playing with a white ball, getting under lights, getting third grade together and getting some of the top second grade teams into first grade."
Due to COVID-19, there will be health regulations in place during this season's matches. Umpires have elected not to handle the ball at all, while players will not celebrate wickets in groups and will not share equipment such as pads or helmets.
Today's matches will get underway from 1pm. The full season draw is now available on the GDCA website.
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