Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

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cheer_cheer

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Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Ok, we have all heard that for the first time in GCA history (I am just going with this) that matches may be cancelled due to the forecast being over 40 degrees on Saturday morning. Does this mean ALL matches should be cancelled ? What options are open to the umpires or the GCA on extreme weather conditions. I would be thinking with extra drinks breaks and the like that most grades would be able to cope, and with a cool change coming in at some stage during the day will it be 40 all day. Interested to hear other thoughts on this and what some solutions would be.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

I am of the opinion that 44, which is what the current forecast is, is too hot, even with additional drinks breaks. At that temperature there is a serious risk of an older and/or less fit player suffering heatstroke, so from a liability point of view I can see the GCA's concerns.

I think it's good that the GCA have decided on a concrete rule BEFORE Saturday, rather than asking teams/umpires to play it by ear, which could lead to some 'heated' (haha) situations between teams that want to play and teams that don't.

Obviously, the last thing that anyone wants is for the cool change to roll in at 2:30pm after games have been called off and hundreds of cricketers are left standing around wondering why they can't be playing, especially since it will make last weeks efforts for nought (Marshall would be spitting chips). Safety has to be the most important thing, however, and while there will be a lot of angry people if games do get called off, it's better than someone dropping dead on the field from heatstroke.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Well, I think it's ridiculous. Cricket is a summer sport, therefore you are supposed to play in the heat. Especially on turf, I can understand 3s and 4s and especially 5s 6s and 7s getting called off as there a lot of older blokes just having a hit with there mates in between beers. But I think turf should definitely play. It's ridiculous if we get called off.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

yes 44 is pretty damn hot and you could possibly understand why they would cancel the first week of a two day game in all grades if this was the case but you would think the second week would be different, especially in the higher grades. It is hard to work out what the best method is in regards to calling games off in heat, but rather than making a ruling for all the grades at 9am in the morning, you could maybe make this for the lower grades, and then the turf grades would start at their normal time (with extra drink breaks) and if for instance the temperature remained above 40 for a two hour period then the league could call off all games and award no results to each game. I do not think it is fair if some teams may have already won last week, and then also not fair if the teams on Sunday are able to play. As there was never a rule prior to the start of the season then introducing a rule midway through a season is tough, so at least if it was in at the start of the season everyone would know. But again if you had rain on the second week, then teams could actually start playing once the rain stopped, so with extreme heat could games on the second week actually start again if a cool change came through mid way through the afternoon ?? There is heaps of different scenarios to take into account.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

for a start where did ya get 44, the weather bureau says 41 for geelong, numbers scare people. if you cant play in 41 degrees with regular drinks breaks then book into grace mckellar now. ill be 38 years old in june and ill cope just fine. drink heaps of water friday, dont get pissed friday night and ill guarantee you will be fine. im sure we can all think of better things to do in the heat, but ill bet everyone would play if they thought they were gonna win. therefore its just a mental weakness, toughen up gators or defect to some weak mob like the nuggets or cheetahs.:D
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

bare in mind.. that the extreme heat will cause the game to go slower.. alot slower. if you've got someone like adam marsland running in off his brett lee run up, his over's aer going to take twice as long. also, with the extra drinks breaks, that's just another 15 minute stop in play every 20 overs. some games might not finish til 7 or 7:30
i mean, going back to what a4e said, it is shit for teams like marshall who've posted close to 400, but st peter's chased down our 400 last year. yes it was a tiny ground, but they did it, and on a day where no bowler is going to have any energy, 381 becomes a slightly easier target to achieve..
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Lets just say i was filthy we lost the toss last week.... my feelings have sumwat changed now
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Why don't they just say right it's going to be 40+ lets start at 10.00 and have the days play over earlier? The hottest part of the day is after 2.00 or 3.00.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

SHANEBOURNEorWARNE;321931 said:
Why don't they just say right it's going to be 40+ lets start at 10.00 and have the days play over earlier? The hottest part of the day is after 2.00 or 3.00.
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That would stuff a lot of people around with work etc, plus it would mean no juniors (although they will probably be called off anyway).
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

What a ******* joke the GCA are!

Calling a turf game off because it is too hot. Imagine Football Geelong coming out and telling all the clubs that as of 9am Saturday morning they could call games of senior football off because it is too cold. It's a bloody embarassment.

Cricket has been played for ever in Geelong and never has it been called off, summer sport equates to warm weather. It's not rocket science GCA HQ.

Understand where they are coming from re: juniors and hard wicket, but to call Turf grade (1sts & 2nds) off would be disatrious this close to finals.

If the games do get called off, what are the repercussions? Marshall will be seething if it gets called off, St Peters wont get 381 in 2 hits let alone 1, could be the difference between a team being relegated or another team being promoted. What about a team like Torquay (mind you there is no way in the world it will reach 40C in Torquay tomorrow), they've already got 6 points and are in the box seat for 10, what happens there? Or games scheduled for sunday?

Maybe the clowns who are running the show should set some guidelines; ie: round abanded or no points awarded, before the season starts so everyone knows what to expect if it does reach a maximum of 40C during the season. Not bring in rules halfway through a season.

Heaven forbid it might be hot late March and a final will have to be called off, what a bloody boatrace that would be.

Was chatting to a few of the older blokes at the club last night, who use to play in the 80's & 90's and so forth, they were recalling days when it was 42-43C and they fielded all day. None of them died, it's all about extra drinks breaks and slip, slop, slap.

It's a terrible rule and I for one am in disagreeance, you know heading into every season it is hot in January/Febuary but the mental toughness required to get through those days sets the good players apart from the pack.

I was sitting back and watching the BPCA issue with points unfold and was somewhat glad I was apart of a well run league in the GCA, now I am not so sure.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

thommy_rissole;321933 said:
was chatting to a few of the older blokes at the club last night, who use to play in the 80's & 90's and so forth, they were recalling days when it was 42-43c and they fielded all day. None of them died, it's all about extra drinks breaks and slip, slop, slap..
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back in my day.......
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

In todays advertiser:

Geelong Cricket Association committee chairman (juniors) Rob Cameron said his group would decide whether to play junior and senior sides at lunchtime today.

Cameron said it was possible under-11 and under-13 games tonight would be cancelled again due to the heat. If it reaches 40C, senior games tomorrow could be called off.

I am for Juniors to be cancelled, 5,6,7ths to be cancelled and if it is over 40 to maybe look at all hard wicket. There are a lot of older, and much younger people playing in these grades. Turf cricketers have the support staff to get the required fluids, and are more likely to prepare correctly the night before a game to deal with extreme heat.

Was there a death on a cricket field in Victoria due to heat last year. I have a feeling there was and this could be one of the major reasons for an ultra cautious approach?
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

I can understand the frustrations a lot of you feel and in similar circumstances I would be pretty pissed off if my cricket was going to be called off for the same reasons.

However, I can and do see why the cautious approach is being taken. To be out in 40ºc plus heat for 6 or 7 hours could be a killer. I have a feeling that you might be luckier in certain places of Australia in that you get a dry heat which can make the higher temps bearable rather than the humid heat we get in the UK. Still though it's not going to make for a pleasant days play.

Also, think about it from the various associations point of view, you're largely amateurs (correct me if I'm wrong) and as such fitness levels are going to vary wildly. Also, facilities are going to vary from club to club and they may not all have the necessary kit to deal with someone if they do collapse form heat exhaustion, sun stroke and so on.

Look at how the test teams prepare for extreme heat - will any of you be wearing ice vests for example? Hydration is also vital when playing in extreme temperatures but unlike the pros (where they have someone telling them to drink), it's down to the individual to take on fluids and the truth is that not everyone will.

It will only take one person to be taken ill or at worse to collapse and die and then all hell will potentially break loose. I'm not sure how much of a compensation culture you've developed but if something similar happened in the UK, some local clubs or probably the league would in all likeliness get sued out of existence.

I also get the feeling that a lot of the issues stem from the two day system that you play and again, I can see the why there are strong feelings about cancelling games due to 'sun'. Maybe it time to look at one day games, especially if this likely to become a regular occurrence?
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

mas cambios;321955 said:
I also get the feeling that a lot of the issues stem from the two day system that you play and again, I can see the why there are strong feelings about cancelling games due to 'sun'. Maybe it time to look at one day games, especially if this likely to become a regular occurrence?
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It is not a regular occurrence. I would rather miss the occasional game every few years, than play only one day cricket. I was surprised while in the uk that the only time they get to play cricket longer than 55 overs was County 2's or above.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

right arm medium;321957 said:
It is not a regular occurrence. I would rather miss the occasional game every few years, than play only one day cricket. I was surprised while in the uk that the only time they get to play cricket longer than 55 overs was County 2's or above.
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That's just the way it is, sadly. Some leagues do play 60 overs and some play time games but the bread and butter cricket is 50 overs a side (or 45 overs in lower levels).

I'd be in favour of adopting a 2 day system but can't see it ever happening. The weather is probably too unpredictable to play 2 day games, unless they were played on consecutive days (Sat and Sun). This in turn would prove unworkable as a lot of players just can't spend their weekend playing cricket.

My point was mainly with regards to so called 'global warming' being upon us, these extreme temps could occur on a more frequent basis. If that were to happen then surely they would have to consider the format? That is something for way in the future though.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

mas cambios;321959 said:
My point was mainly with regards to so called 'global warming' being upon us, these extreme temps could occur on a more frequent basis. If that were to happen then surely they would have to consider the format? That is something for way in the future though.
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Exclusive one-day cricket would see my immediate retirement. The short game has no room for a 1-run-an-over plodder.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

I seem to have taken things off on a tangent (we've discussed the merits of 2 day vs 1 day elsewhere iirc), so lets try to stick to the topic at hand.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Guys, I sense everyone's frustration and trust me, no one loves their cricket as much as i do. Our game is posied for a result and we need to get an outright also. However, some crucial points are driving this issue. It is a Cricket Victoria initiative, not a GCA one; hence the directive is coming from the governing body for the sport in this state. Secondly, like most matters like this, what is driving this topic in this day and age are the legalities. If someone dies from heat stroke; and remember it could be days later and could even be someone in their 40s or 50s, then the solicitors would have a field day with the GCA, VCCL and Cricket Victoria. They leave themselves wide open to a law suit. The player assumes risk in playing but the league assumes a duty of care in co-ordinating games. Also, i would rather play in the heat than the bloody wind like last Saturday but at the end of the day; there are not too many finely-tuned athletes running around in the GCA, most of us are backyard cricketers who love having a hit; many of those play 1sts and 2nds. 44 degrees is hot and in Geelong it is a dry heat which makes it worse; if the GCA calls the day off it is perceivably in the competition's best interests; the fact that we are halfway through a game is just an unfortunate fact. We go scurrying for cover when it rains but are happy to play in 44 degrees. Funny game.
 
Re: Under what conditions should cricket be cancelled

Renny24;321962 said:
Also, i would rather play in the heat than the bloody wind like last Saturday but at the end of the day; there are not too many finely-tuned athletes running around in the GCA, most of us are backyard cricketers who love having a hit;
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Speak for urself there mate :p
 
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