by bunji » Sun May 28, 2017 3:12 pm
8 teams are much more sustainable in the long term, it would force much more direct accountability.
The Redbacks League long term is questionable in terms of what it is giving back and it's lack of culture, we already have most of the 23+ players not interested due to employment etc, I am sure that with a 8 team comp the resourcing/culture is sustainable and we have a much more viable long term plan.My major concern is that the amount of 23+ players going through to first class cricket is being reduced, I believe this is a flaw in the thinking of high performance environments in Australian cricket today. It may reflect an insular environment within cricket in this country and therefore risks holding back our progress, I would like to see many more of our coaches being exposed to other sports and their knowledge base, it is only over the last 2 years that SACA have finally started to use the skills of AFL people in their coaching environment (Schwerdt/Warwick Raymond)
I would like to see AFL coaching people who are a major resource having more exchange of coaching methodology into the cricket environment.
The negativity around grade cricket is consistent across Australia, as a state SA having 13/14 teams will continue to be painful however if you talk to the lads who have played across 2 or 3 different states many of them will tell you that the differences in standards are neglible. The constant debate in Adelaide is counter productive, I would personally like to see less posturing from SACA and more focus on player development and ensuring that the identified talent goes through to become quality first class cricketers. The fact that they wanted West Torrens who completely dominated the competition last season out of the competition, is laughable and reflects the lack of knowledge of many of the decision makers about what is really going on in the grade cricket environment.
By engaging an independent review process we will get a more objective set of recommendations, no club is going to want to merge so then it becomes about establishing standards and sticking to them. Yes two divisions may move to haves and have nots but it will create better standards, I am still confused as to why SACA are using Cricket Australia accreditation standards but they don't make the results public - this needs to change.
The example of Ryan Gibson in NSW who can make 1000 runs a season in grade cricket as a 23 year old, having been through all rep cricket with NSW and only last season finally get offered a contract just tells you that there is little difference in standards across the states. The comments about Dalton making runs for fun are interesting, he has always been a significant talent with obvious technical strengths however it has taken a considerable amount of time to get some consistency in his mental approach and his record shows that inconsistency. This is the first season we have seen the required mental consistency.
I find it disappointing that I am consistently hearing this negativity about SA grade cricket , yes 8 teams will give us a better standard without doubt but preparing any player out of grade cricket in Australia to face Cummins, Pattinson etc etc is challenging and that is what high performance departments are for. It is unfair for people to expect part time semi-professional cricketers to compete against full time international cricketers being paid anywhere from $600000 a year to $2 million a year by CA etc etc. To make the progression from Futures League to first class cricket is significant so the quality of coaching is critical. Coaching standards in cricket in Australia need to improve and reflect outdated management processes eminating from Cricket Australia.
A major issue right now is the current player payment negotiations, Cricket Australia are threatening to withdraw $4.5million dollars of ACA funding which would decimate grade cricket in Australia as close to $1million dollars of that money is to pay for first class cricketers/coaches to remain a part of the grade cricket environment in Australia.
Each club has their local biases and that is a given and understandable. SACA has to a role to manage cricket and their ability to improve their processes right now will ultimately determine the success of South Australian cricket over the next ten years.