It's been dubbed the Covid Cup by Canberra clubs - Cricket ACT's radical solution to salvage the back half of the summer as Omicron wreaks havoc across the capital.
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The sport's governing body scrapped its shortened two-day competition this week following a 5-3 vote by the clubs, in favour of a second 50-over league beginning on Saturday to underpin the rest of the season.
But it won't be a carbon copy of the John Gallop Cup, won last Sunday by Weston Creek/Molonglo. Each match will use a red ball, while players will wear whites as opposed to their typical, limited-overs coloured strips.
Eastlake, Queanbeyan, Creek, North Canberra/Gungahlin and Tuggeranong all voted in favour of the proposal to pursue one-day cricket for the remainder of the season.
Western District was opposed to the move, as were Ginninderra and ANU - both of which canvassed their playing group as part of the voting process.
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"It'd be a shame if they don't call it the Covid Cup. . .but we'll let the powers that be decide," Wests captain Scott Murn said.
"We thought that given the already shortened season and the shortened nature of the two-day comp, it would've been great to play some two-day cricket, particularly for young players. There are more opportunities in the longer form of the game than there are in white-ball cricket.
"It's a shame particularly for some of our younger guys in the lower grades that they don't get to take on a bigger role with the ball.
"That being said it does mean seven games rather than three, looking at the silver lining I suppose it's more cricket and we're grateful the competition is going ahead and fortunately most players have been available each week."
The new competition will follow the original 50-over draw, but with venues reversed. It replaces a drastically modified two-day competition, which clubs voted for in favour of preseason, that was set to stage just three regular season rounds before finals.
Queanbeyan and Eastlake are the strongest supporters of this week's changes, having advocated before the season started for an extended 50-over competition in place of the two-day Douglas Cup amid the unpredictability of the Covid pandemic.
The original proposal, which was voted down, suggested the possibility of a 14-round John Gallop Cup, where each side would play each other twice.
"It's not because we want to play one-day cricket all the time, but just because it's the smartest option in our opinion [for this season]," Eastlake captain Adam Tett said.
"Other states have chosen to do the same thing. Week to week, it's easier to manage Covid cases and people doing the right thing."
Ginninderra, meanwhile, has favoured two-day cricket all season.
"From a safety perspective, because that's the worry, two-day cricket is probably the safest because it's less exposure," captain Rhys Healy said.
"You're playing the same group of guys across two weekends where as one-day cricket we're now coming into contact with seven other teams instead of three other teams. You're going to have people from week to week anyway missing one-day stuff regardless because of Covid."
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.
