Cricket Australia has been forced to scrap its National T20 Championships amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Canberra Aces are making the most of the adjusted representative calendar after advancing to the Big Bash regional finals.
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The Aces will be one of four teams early next year to contest the finals on the Sydney Cricket Ground after thrashing Murrumbidgee and then prevailing in a nail biter against Wagga Wagga on Sunday.
It's the only opportunity for an ACT representative team to capture T20 silverware this summer, after CA opted not to run its 10-team National Championships for the next two summers.
In the past two seasons, the winner of each state and territory's T20 tournament, plus runners-up in NSW and Victoria, qualified for the competition.
Reigning Cricket ACT T20 champions Wests finished fourth in last season's National Championships in Adelaide, broadcast across Australia, but financial troubles stemming from COVID-19 have spelled the competition's temporary end.
The annual 50-over Country Championships have also been discarded by CA. A NSW/ACT-wide tournament will be played instead, with an ACT/Southern Districts team heading to Goulburn next weekend to represent one of eight regions.
"Unfortunately this year it doesn't lead to anything," Cricket ACT programs coach Kyle Piper said. "There won't be the exact same amount of cricket but there'll still be a fair bit of rep cricket and a fair bit of cricket in general providing everything stays under control."
Cricket ACT announced on Monday that the Greg Chappell Cricket Centre has taken over as major sponsor of the local T20 competition this year. Two rounds will be played on Sunday, while games will also be played on Thursday nights throughout the summer before the January finals.
"It's the highlight of our local cricket season, we know the teams love playing the T20 format, [there will be] a lot of double headers," Cricket ACT chief James Allsopp said.
"It's a huge competition, we know that T20's popular among fifth graders all the way through to the Premier competition. Our local competitions are our number one priority. We've been really fortunate that we've had time to plan for this and now we're just looking forward to the T20 tournament."
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Meanwhile, the second annual All Stars for Mental Health T20 match will take place on Thursday evening in front of a 170-strong virus-capped crowd at Phillip Oval to raise money for Lifeline Canberra.
The territory has been split in two for the second Northern Frenzy v Southern Pride Twenty20 battle - the best of Ginninderra, Wests, ANU and Norths will team up looking to exact revenge on last year's winner made up of players from Weston Creek, Queanbeyan, Eastlake and Tuggeranong.
Last summer's inaugural clash involved a handful of local celebrities and was played as a bit of a novelty, but Allsopp expected players to come out all guns blazing for this year's instalment.
"We want the players to go as hard as they can and win the match," Allsopp said.
"Last year we got about 800 through, It was a real festival atmosphere, the players were a bit unsure whether to play it as a bit of a gimmicky match or to take it serious and it was a combination of both."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
