By Nick Creely
All 18 Victorian Premier Cricket clubs are officially locked in to a new and exciting Twenty20 competition, with the first ever Super Slam to kick off this season.
A new concept by Cricket Victoria, the aim is to split the 18 teams into two conferences named after BBL clubs Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades, and will be a stand-alone competition aimed at developing potential Big Bash players.
Each team has the potential to sign an interstate and overseas BBL player, with the winner of the Super Slam to go to a Cricket Australia Twenty20 carnival to compete with the winners of other Premier Twenty20 title winners across each state.
Local clubs Casey-South Melbourne and Dandenong will form part of the Melbourne Stars conference, joining Fitzroy-Doncaster, Kingston Hawthorn, Camberwell Magpies, Ringwood, Frankston-Peninsula, Monash Tigers and Northcote.
In the Melbourne Renegades conference, Greenvale, Melbourne, St Kilda, Prahran, Essendon, Geelong, Footscray, Melbourne Uni and Carlton will compete against each other.
The games will mostly be played mid-week, which will allow a clearer focus on developing a high performance pathway to Twenty20 cricket, and also allow more two-day cricket to be played in the regular season.
“Without out a doubt, it’s a new way of thinking from Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria, – it’s now a pathway for players from every state to show their skills, and maybe get a contract with one of the (BBL) franchises,” Casey-South Melbourne president Ross Hibbins said of the new Twenty20 competition.
“It creates a link between Premier Cricket and higher level cricket in the Twenty20 scene, and it’s well overdue.”
Hibbins believes the Swans will benefit from more exposure to the Twenty20 format, and hopes to unearth plenty of talent.
“There is a real incentive to now find the best players in the region, and specialise in Twenty20, and have a real go at trying to not only win the Stars Conference, but to also try and get to National,” he said.
In other news across Victorian Premier Cricket, Casey-South Melbourne has brought in two quality additions into their squad, with Dandenong’s Ryan Quirk and Narre North Turf 2 premiership star Josh Dowling signing on at Casey Fields.
Quirk won the Premier second XI player of the year award after compiling 716 runs next year and will be looking for an opportunity at a higher level, while pace bowler Dowling returns to the Premier fold after also playing a first XI game with Dandenong a few years ago.
“They’re at the age where they can become a force in the future, and we’ll provide the opportunities for those two to really step up to the next level,” Hibbins said.
“We’re really pleased to have them on board.”
It comes after the exciting news that Luke Wells – current Sussex player – will join the Swans as captain this season.
