AHEAD of the upcoming 2019/20 season, the Shoalhaven District Cricket Association has announced a number of changes to benefit all involved in the sport.
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The preliminary report was presented to the Shoalhaven Cricket community as a draft strategy for feedback and comment.
This strategy has been shaped by interviews with each club, the club workshop held in May, and discussions of the steering committee over the past few months.
The competition structure strategic pillar was released to the community for consultation and finalised on August 5 for implementation in the 2019/20 season.
In seniors, first and second grade will both be eight team formats, which may include a bye - because at this stage, the sides in the top grade will be North Nowra-Cambewarra, Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens, Bomaderry, Nowra, Ulladulla United, Berry-Shoalhaven Heads and Batemans Bay.
Within first grade, the one-day format will open the season, before they transition into the longer form - with the Twenty20 turf competition running as a stand alone tournament.
One of the bigger changes, agreed upon by all nine SDCA clubs, is in third and fourth grades, who will only play one-day and T20 formats this season - scrapping all two-day matches.
"SDCA is currently reviewing its practices, procedures and policies - many which are overdue - to help improve the sport," SDCA president Craig Howsan.
"A large part of that has been the appointment of Sean Barrett as the cricket manager of Shoalhaven and the Highlands, who has been really helpful in moving the sport in the right direction - especially in the juniors."
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The introduction of the Cricket Australia junior formats, about to go into it's third year of implementation, has led to increases in lower level junior participation and there is an intent among clubs and the association's administration to evolve and adapt.
This season will also see the reintroduction of an under 16s (stage three) competition, after none running in 2018/19, which was seen as a very important to assist junior to senior transition by many of the clubs.
The changes haven't been restricted to just the SDCA competition, with multiple improvements being made to the representative scene.
Cricket NSW has introduced a new youth championships for under 13s, 14s and 15s, which Shoalhaven will combine with South Coast to form the Greater Southern Marlins.
There will also be an under 13s Shoalhaven team this season, alongside under 12s, 14s and 16s, to compete at the intra-association championships - with matches to be staggered across the summer.
The Burns Cup, originally named after its Goulburn roots, will now be called the Creighton Cup, which will be played on October 12 and 13 - with Shoalhaven playing Illawarra at Hayden Drexel Oval on the Saturday before the final at North Dalton Park the following day.
While the Jeffrey Cup will be staged over five weekends, involving three 50 over matches and two T20s before a decider.
In other representative news, Greater Illawarra will host the Plan B Regional Big Bash, with Shoalhaven making up part of the South Coast Crew.
Their first game will be Friday, October 18 under lights, with games two and three on the following Sunday.
Two other zone intra-association competitions in the pipelines are a T20 knockout competition and champions of champions tournament.
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