The Western Province Cricket Association has appointed a task team to plan for the 2018-19 club cricket season, after the 2017-18 campaign was cancelled due to the ongoing drought in Cape Town and surrounds. Here is what you need to know.
1. The task team’s purpose is to unpack and plot the way forward for club cricket, due to the impact of the drought crisis, within the jurisdiction of the WPCA.
2. The task team will be chaired by WPCA board member Ashraf Burns and include:
- City of Cape Town sport and recreation manager Alexander Dykes
- Glamorgan Cricket Club chairman Deon Alexander
- Milnerton Cricket Club chairman Mike Reynders
- Victoria Cricket Club chairman Richard Noor
- Western Province Cricket Club chairman Trevor Pape
3. The task team is subordinate and accountable to the WPCA and will:
- assess all facilities at cricket clubs;
- carry the best interest of club cricket in general and not the interest of any specific club;
- develop contingency plans and unpack the severity of the drought’s impact;
- liaise with City of Cape Town officials;
- plot the way forward for club cricket amid to the drought crisis;
- represent the members council and reports to the WPCA cricket committee; and
- traverse any club cricket issues caused by the drought.
4. Award-winning Newlands curator Evan Flint will be co-opted to some task team meetings – and help with the blueprint for the quality of outfields and pitches.
5. WPCA chief executive officer Nabiel Dien has suggested the following to the task team:
- The premier league and first division continue to play two-day cricket.
- Some Ama20 Competition matches be played on floodlit Friday evenings.
- Venues outside the jurisdiction of WPCA be sought and considered.