By sports editor Russell Bennett
In a cruel twist of fate, the weather gods have savaged the 2020 VCCL Melbourne Country Week championship, with the fate of the divisions well and truly up in the air.
The West Gippsland Cricket Association (WGCA), for example, has only been able to play one complete game in the competition so far – a close loss to Sale-Maffra on Monday in Frankston – because of the constant rain throughout the week.
The WGCA is in the ‘Provincial’ tier of Country Week, which includes the top eight ranked country leagues split into two pools of four teams.
The Gazette understands that the VCCL committee has had to act swiftly in regards to the make-up of the rest of this week’s competition, with the weather and subsequent availability of grounds taken largely out of its hands.
The current state of play is this:
- There will be no play in the top, Provincial tier – or Division 3 – tomorrow (Thursday), due to a lack of available grounds following the big wet.
- Given that there are six teams in Division 2, games are set to go ahead tomorrow, given three grounds are currently available – provided the weather doesn’t worsen significantly before the start of play.
- On Friday, the top teams of Pool A and Pool B of Provincial – currently Ballarat and Bendigo – are scheduled to face off for the prestigious Country Week crown. Ferntree Gully & District has been dealt a brutally unlucky hand, given it finished with more points than Ballarat (Pool A), but finished behind Bendigo in Pool B on mere percentage (less than a percentage point).
- Assuming Division 2 games go ahead tomorrow, the top two teams will play off in a final on Friday.
- With no play in Division 3 tomorrow, the top two teams will play in a final at Werribee on Friday.
Crucially, the decision on next year’s Melbourne Country Week rankings, or – more to the point – which sides will be either promoted or relegated, won’t be a ‘spur of the moment’ one.
Geelong, last year’s Provincial champion, and Traralgon & District are currently on the bottom of Provincial Pool A and B respectively.
After speaking frankly with the VCCL, the Gazette understands that that decision may not even be made for some months – at least until the number of sides for the 2021 competition are finalised.
Only a matter of weeks ago, for example, there were 22 different leagues set to compete in this year’s competition – but that was cut to 18 with the sudden withdrawal of four leagues at the eleventh hour.
Effectively, contrary to some reports, the make-up of next year’s competition is still completely up in the air… just like the potential of more bad weather this week.
