Red-ball fixtures to remain a priority in wet start to Cricket ACT summer

After Saturday's first-grade matches were washed out, just two of 12 games have been played in the season's first three weeks.

A number of options are on the table to ensure as much cricket as possible is played, including mid-week or Sunday fixtures.

Such moves could see red-ball games condensed into white-ball 50-over or Twenty20 contests.

While eager to support any efforts to maximise the number of matches played, some clubs have expressed their preference for two-day fixtures to remain the priority this summer.

With officials working to establish the ACT Comets as a standalone team in the national Second XI competition, Cricket ACT head of cricket Stuart Karppinen said red-ball cricket is set to take on even greater importance in the coming years.

"Moving towards a Second XI team, red-ball cricket becomes important as a lead-in for four-day cricket," Karppinen said.

"As a standalone ACT team, red-ball performances in the ACT grade competition will be what gets players selected in that team."

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The options to reschedule matches are limited, with fixtures already scheduled for a number of Sundays throughout the season and Canberra experiencing a shortage of turf pitches.

That's before officials consider the one factor outside their control; the weather. Should the rain continue, any attempts to overhaul the calendar will prove futile.

As a former Cricket ACT CEO, ANU president Mark Vergano can understand the difficulties of the situation.

"It's already a fairly packed schedule," Vergano said. "It's a difficult situation.

"After last year, players are champing at the bit to play two-day cricket. With the selection implications it has for four-day cricket, it's essential we get back to red-ball cricket."

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