2016/2017 Mash Shield

Yep, everyone has an opinion. Opinions are like assholes; everyone has one and some of them stink.
I am entitled to defend my club. Should I sit back and let people have pot shots? Every club has it's ups and downs. For a club that has made finals 12 of 15 years, to have an "off" year the year they decide to create a third tier for the first time is unlucky, but we took our medicine. We were in full rebuild mode. The club didn't pay any players in 2015/2016. In fact, didn't even pay the coach. But we didn't bitch, didn't moan. Just got on with it. Copped the criticism, copped the derision from other clubs. The best way to answer the critics is to win. Making a GF this year and falling at the final hurdle looks like a pretty decent response to me. Winning would have been better, but it wasn't to be.
Just for the record, Greensborough didn't leave the HDCA because they were "too big and too strong" as you claim. They joined the DVCA as they thought that it was a superior competition and that the HDCA was too small to survive. As it turns out, they were right. They also felt that geographically, Greensborough was part of the Diamond Valley and would be better served playing in the area instead of travelling to places like Fitzroy to play matches. How do I know? Because I was there. I created and delivered the submission and the presentation to the DVCA Committee. Not an opinion. Something that isn't dealt with much on these forums.."Facts"!
I would love to know how many people on this site, are people that actual do things at their club. You know, Coaches (Junior and Senior), Committee Members, Captains. Those that actually give up their time in a positive manner rather than sitting back and criticising everyone else. It's easy to criticise. Much harder to actually try to do something positive.
As for your comment about trying to figure out what happened at my club. I have put my money where my mouth is. I do volunteer great chunks of my time and have done for over a decade. I have coached a junior side, I have captained senior sides, I have been a Committee Member for 10 years and have also been a member of the Club's Executive Committee for 7 years including 2 as President.
Two years into a rebuild and we have made a GF and increased our junior numbers from 7 players to over 50 players. We also have over 45 kids in our Milo program and huge numbers in our T20 Blast Centre.
If you want to criticise, fine. But do it with facts. If you want to have an intelligent conversation about the state of cricket and the challenges that we all face, I am all ears. If all that you want to do is criticise people and clubs with your opinions, what's the point? These forums should be great places to share ideas and to talk about the challenges that face cricket. Throwing mud at each other achieves nothing.

Keep checking the mailbox for your medal, I'm sure it will come. Didn't you leave the HDCA after 5-6 straight semi final losses, mainly to a club called Rosanna who didn't pay players and didn't have a superiority complex, unlike yourselves. And when you finish a game clear bottom of a twelve team comp, how are you unlucky to get relegated? Nothing to do with 3 going down or what the new comp is called.....it's called 3RD GRADE!!

When you fail you deserve to be questioned and you need to be big enough to cop it on the chin. People like you who attack anyone who dare critisise and deny that there is a problem shouldn't be in charge and it's no wonder you're where you are.

So I ask again, did your club choke again and what are you going to do about it?
 
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Can't be interested and have an opinion?. Not a lot of positive words on here just a lot of bagging of blokes and clubs. Let's talk cricket instead of being ego minded cocksmokers!!.
Ego Minded? You must be absent minded. Don't say you play in another comp when you are clearly invested in this one and then throw nonsensical insults at people that pick up on it. What comp do you play in then?
 
It's 8-12 years old. Has your actual clubs junior numbers grown, or has there just been a growth in the CA run programs (Milo and T20B)? There's a difference. Personally, I think it's a terrible lead in to junior cricket. I like the Mods program within the DVCA structure as it gives the kids a taste of the game while guaranteeing they get a bat and a bowl. The T20 blast program does nothing to prepare the kids for proper cricket, it's just designed to keep the kids on CA's books for a longer period of time so they can say "oh look, we're doing something to promote cricket to kids" while making clubs do most of the work and giving them precisely ************ all back. Actually, worse than ************ all, they are stripping kids away from being on club books. I know the kids we lost to T20 blast programs will never play cricket as an actual member of a local club.

If clubs keep sending their 8-12 year olds to the T20 blast program, under 14's will go the same way as Under 16's in this comp.
Couldn't disagree more with you on this subject. Our club caps it at 10yo then move into Mods or competitive u12s. We had 27 t20s, 47 milo kids, a mods side and numerous junior teams. Of course the clubs do all the work as that's their job/aim to give local kids the opportunity to learn, play and develop. Not every kid will stay with a cricket club as there interests at that age change constantly. But to say it does $&@" all is ridiculous. My boys both did t20 blasts and the program on Sunday mornings and training one night a week was incredibly well received by the kids and there parents. Milo has always been the life blood of any club in creating numbers and generational gaps not being created. T20 is an extension of that. I think your view is very short sighted to be honest. If was running a club I'd be insisting the junior club that didn't have t20 blast team to promote it as much as they can.
 
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Couldn't disagree more with you on this subject. Our club caps it at 10yo then move into Mods or competitive u12s. We had 27 t20s, 47 milo kids, a mods side and numerous junior teams. Of course the clubs do all the work as that's their job/aim to give local kids the opportunity to learn, play and develop. Not every kid will stay with a cricket club as there interests at that age change constantly. But to say it does $&@" all is ridiculous. My boys both did t20 blasts and the program on Sunday mornings and training one night a week was incredibly well received by the kids and there parents. Milo has always been the life blood of any club in creating numbers and generational gaps not being created. T20 is an extension of that. I think your view is very short sighted to be honest. If was running a club I'd be insisting the junior club that didn't have t20 blast team to promote it as much as they can.

It's a decent idea to cap it at 10yo, but I'm still not convinced it offers much to the kids in regard to developing cricket skills. If I were you (or your junior co-ordinator) I'd be keeping an eye on how many kids come from the T20 program and play more than 1 year of junior cricket. Those numbers will tell you if the program is successful or not.
 
It's a decent idea to cap it at 10yo, but I'm still not convinced it offers much to the kids in regard to developing cricket skills. If I were you (or your junior co-ordinator) I'd be keeping an eye on how many kids come from the T20 program and play more than 1 year of junior cricket. Those numbers will tell you if the program is successful or not.
The current evidence based research shows though that getting young kids playing on full size pitches is no good for development either. Milo is designed for maximum participation and fun, which at junior level is what cricket should be about
 
The current evidence based research shows though that getting young kids playing on full size pitches is no good for development either. Milo is designed for maximum participation and fun, which at junior level is what cricket should be about

That's why you move the stumps a bit closer in Milo and Mods. Not sure anyone needed to waste time researching that, it seems like common sense to me.
 
Team of the Year.
Mitch McAuley
Josh Barton
Tom Simpson
Brett Millane
Kyle Thompson
Nick Blackwood
Matt Crawford
Adam McLaughlin(WK)
Tom Stoneham
Rick Ford(C)
Charith Jayaweera

Congrats to all selected. Any objections?
 
Team of the Year.
Mitch McAuley
Josh Barton
Tom Simpson
Brett Millane
Kyle Thompson
Nick Blackwood
Matt Crawford
Adam McLaughlin(WK)
Tom Stoneham
Rick Ford(C)
Charith Jayaweera

Congrats to all selected. Any objections?
How do we think this team would go in
1) Money Shield?
2) Barclay Shield?
 
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