Grade Cricket

[abber]

Interesting research Backoftheroom. I heard Jason Krejza on the ABC last season. He's now coach of North Sydney he was of the opinion the flatter tracks and Turf ball was eliminating 130KMH bowlers and spin bowlers.
A couple of A Grade spinners I've spoken to felt they had to bowl to contain much more in the last 3 years.

[The Myth]

I also think that the batting has improved across the board over the last few years also. It went through a bad spell for a while but over the last 3 or so years it has definitely come along. While there might not be as many stars in every team there is more batting depth.

[The Myth]

Also there is a genuine lack of quicks in Premier Cricket. Once upon a time every team had a bloke that could bowl 130+. Now you would struggle to find half a dozen. Kensington, Port, West Torrens, Glenelg and Adelaide are the only clubs that have genuine quicks

[backoftheroom]

Also there is a genuine lack of quicks in Premier Cricket. Once upon a time every team had a bloke that could bowl 130+. Now you would struggle to find half a dozen. Kensington, Port, West Torrens, Glenelg and Adelaide are the only clubs that have genuine quicks

Everyone who's on contract with the redbacks has 130km in them, outside that there isn't a lot of guys who can stay above that 130 mark for more than a few balls an over. I'd add Sturt and East Torrens to those clubs. They're no Neate or Pudney but I've seen speed gun results from Gregory and both Robins' where they've stayed around the 130 mark for long enough. Injuries probably hold them and a few other guys back from consistently staying above the barrier. Someone like Joe Mennie only operates in the mid to high 120's and can crank it up if everything clicks, but don't let the TV speed gun fool you. Can anyone remember the hype around Wes Agar when he first came across? Said he bowled 140+ in an interview with the Tiser and rolled them out at around 130 ON TV in the BBL. Genuine pace is very hard to come by.

[The Myth]

There's not many guys you would lose sleep over facing right now. I remember a few years ago there was Harris, Cleary, Kelly, Weeks, Watherston, Staunton, Williamson just to name a few as guys either fringe state squads or just playing grade cricket that could do some damage.

[backoftheroom]

I'd imagine we see less and less 140km/h bowlers with the way the bowling restrictions go. Kids have so much they have to work on at training they don't have any overs left to just try bowl fast.

[helicopterking]

Also there is a genuine lack of quicks in Premier Cricket. Once upon a time every team had a bloke that could bowl 130+. Now you would struggle to find half a dozen. Kensington, Port, West Torrens, Glenelg and Adelaide are the only clubs that have genuine quicks

Everyone who's on contract with the redbacks has 130km in them, outside that there isn't a lot of guys who can stay above that 130 mark for more than a few balls an over. I'd add Sturt and East Torrens to those clubs. They're no Neate or Pudney but I've seen speed gun results from Gregory and both Robins' where they've stayed around the 130 mark for long enough. Injuries probably hold them and a few other guys back from consistently staying above the barrier. Someone like Joe Mennie only operates in the mid to high 120's and can crank it up if everything clicks, but don't let the TV speed gun fool you. Can anyone remember the hype around Wes Agar when he first came across? Said he bowled 140+ in an interview with the Tiser and rolled them out at around 130 ON TV in the BBL. Genuine pace is very hard to come by.

Wes Agar never took more then 2 wickets in an innings playing in Grade Cricket. Bowlers still need to have the ability to move the ball off the straight. Those past players named above(Cleary,Weeks,Kelly etc,) Could all move the ball in the air and off the deck.

[The Myth]

Spot on and they were really competitive unlike the Agar's of the world

[The Hound]

Why did the GCC give air time to the ATCA about a clash with finals between the two competitions, because little Johnny would have to make a decision on who he plays for. Surely as a club in the ATCA you want to see your better players testing themselves out in PC and if they can't play finals in ATCA then so be it.

[heater31]

Why did the GCC give air time to the ATCA about a clash with finals between the two competitions, because little Johnny would have to make a decision on who he plays for. Surely as a club in the ATCA you want to see your better players testing themselves out in PC and if they can't play finals in ATCA then so be it.

Because the ATCA clubs would have pressured their executive to do so. The issue has been brewing for years....

[Tony Clifton]

Why did the GCC give air time to the ATCA about a clash with finals between the two competitions, because little Johnny would have to make a decision on who he plays for. Surely as a club in the ATCA you want to see your better players testing themselves out in PC and if they can't play finals in ATCA then so be it.

Lots of kids play both and the reality is that of the 12 x U/16 Reds players and 12 x U/16 Whites players grade clubs have running around for them, only the best handful will progress to senior cricket.

The other 20 or so will more likely play for an ATCA club if they aren't lost to the game altogether. Makes sense for them to retain their link with their community club if they can.

Making the junior semi finals Saturday-Saturday in grade cricket was a simple change and has had a big positive impact. Grade juniors only have 11 rounds whereas seniors have 13 so it fits perfectly.

[get a grip]

Why did the GCC give air time to the ATCA about a clash with finals between the two competitions, because little Johnny would have to make a decision on who he plays for. Surely as a club in the ATCA you want to see your better players testing themselves out in PC and if they can't play finals in ATCA then so be it.

I could imagine this being a bigger problem for grade cricket clubs than ATCA clubs.
Little Johnnie who bats 7 and doesn't bowl for his grade club but bats three and bowls first change for his ATCA club is possibly more likely to play for his ATCA club, IMO

[Tony Clifton]

Why did the GCC give air time to the ATCA about a clash with finals between the two competitions, because little Johnny would have to make a decision on who he plays for. Surely as a club in the ATCA you want to see your better players testing themselves out in PC and if they can't play finals in ATCA then so be it.

I could imagine this being a bigger problem for grade cricket clubs than ATCA clubs.
Little Johnnie who bats 7 and doesn't bowl for his grade club but bats three and bowls first change for his ATCA club is possibly more likely to play for his ATCA club, IMO

I've heard of problems both ways in the past.

Kid at an Atca club who has been there his whole life, wants to win a flag with his mates

Kid wants to play grade final which leaves his Atca team short of players who have qualified

The program change was eminently sensible IMO. Has made things better for everyone.

[bunji]

I am interested in people's thoughts about the Redbacks League, would there be a possibility that pressure maybe brought to bear on SACA by Cricket Australia to fall in line with other states and put more funding/resources into Grade Cricket and at the same time finish with the Redbacks League? I have heard that Cricket Australia is concerned about our grade cricket system standing alone in Australian cricket with the continuation of Redbacks league cricket and in Brisbane there was significant discussion about this. Some people say it is a good idea to have the Redbacks league and then others I have heard say that it is not working so well.Do people believe that it is effective use of funds and do you believe the relationship between clubs and the high performance department is a positive one or do you think it could be improved?

[heater31]

I am interested in people's thoughts about the Redbacks League, would there be a possibility that pressure maybe brought to bear on SACA by Cricket Australia to fall in line with other states and put more funding/resources into Grade Cricket and at the same time finish with the Redbacks League? I have heard that Cricket Australia is concerned about our grade cricket system standing alone in Australian cricket with the continuation of Redbacks league cricket and in Brisbane there was significant discussion about this. Some people say it is a good idea to have the Redbacks league and then others I have heard say that it is not working so well.Do people believe that it is effective use of funds and do you believe the relationship between clubs and the high performance department is a positive one or do you think it could be improved?

Reckon Grade clubs have other issues they need to sort out first to please CA before taking on the Pre Season League.......like a $100k in the bank and 75% of income derived from Fund-raising and not Association funding

[Tony Clifton]

Redbacks League going well. Redbacks performing 10x better than they used to. How much of the improvement if any is a result of the Redbacks League I don't know but I doubt they'll be changing it now. It's a shame the Matador Cup is so early though. Pulls 15 or so players out pretty early. Great for the other 44 though. Four weeks of cricket on turf prior to Round 1 - best preseason you can get.

Relationship with high performance pretty good I think? Certainly Shaun Willuams, Luke Williams, John Palmer are well regarded by the people I know in grade cricket.

[bowl100]

Money needs to be spent on grade cricket grounds if people are constantly demanding it gets better. Very tough to improve standards of cricket when a lot of the grounds have horrendous outfields, sight screens, change rooms and pitches in some cases. Throwing money into the Redbacks League is all well and good but when many of the better grade cricketers are not interested in playing unless they get paid why not put the money into improving grounds, facilities and so on at grade grounds instead of complaining that the standard isn't good enough.

[daysofourlives]

Money needs to be spent on grade cricket grounds if people are constantly demanding it gets better. Very tough to improve standards of cricket when a lot of the grounds have horrendous outfields, sight screens, change rooms and pitches in some cases. Throwing money into the Redbacks League is all well and good but when many of the better grade cricketers are not interested in playing unless they get paid why not put the money into improving grounds, facilities and so on at grade grounds instead of complaining that the standard isn't good enough.

Reduce the amount of grounds so its feasible to improve facilities ie get rid of clubs. Need less clubs in the comp so players can be paid more than what ATCA clubs are offering
Swallowing the ATCA comp should be the 1st step, start stopping the drain of players from grade cricket to Turf.

[heater31]

Money needs to be spent on grade cricket grounds if people are constantly demanding it gets better. Very tough to improve standards of cricket when a lot of the grounds have horrendous outfields, sight screens, change rooms and pitches in some cases. Throwing money into the Redbacks League is all well and good but when many of the better grade cricketers are not interested in playing unless they get paid why not put the money into improving grounds, facilities and so on at grade grounds instead of complaining that the standard isn't good enough.

Reduce the amount of grounds so its feasible to improve facilities ie get rid of clubs. Need less clubs in the comp so players can be paid more than what ATCA clubs are offering
Swallowing the ATCA comp should be the 1st step, start stopping the drain of players from grade cricket to Turf.

yeah reducing clubs worked well for the SACA last time.......as no Club wanted to do what you perceive as the best thing for Cricket in SA

[bowl100]

Money needs to be spent on grade cricket grounds if people are constantly demanding it gets better. Very tough to improve standards of cricket when a lot of the grounds have horrendous outfields, sight screens, change rooms and pitches in some cases. Throwing money into the Redbacks League is all well and good but when many of the better grade cricketers are not interested in playing unless they get paid why not put the money into improving grounds, facilities and so on at grade grounds instead of complaining that the standard isn't good enough.

Reduce the amount of grounds so its feasible to improve facilities ie get rid of clubs. Need less clubs in the comp so players can be paid more than what ATCA clubs are offering
Swallowing the ATCA comp should be the 1st step, start stopping the drain of players from grade cricket to Turf.

This is the exact opposite of what I'm saying. Players love their clubs for the most part and want to play for them. Some clubs don't pay a single player, they play because they love it. Give them the chance to play on better grounds and more will play for longer. No need to get rid of any clubs.... Just put some money and thought into what would actually improve conditions for the players