Tara Murray
Two-day cricket is back on the schedule in Victorian Premier Cricket men’s competition for the 2022-23 season.
Cricket Victoria released dates and the competition structure for both the men’s and women’s competitions on Monday.
This season will mark the return of red ball matches for the men’s competition and a return to T20 matches for the women’s competition, both for the first time since 2019-20 – before the pandemic.
Both competitions will commence on the first weekend of October.
Cricket Victoria’s premier cricket general manager Liam Murphy said they were really excited about the upcoming season and look forward to a return to a well-rounded schedule.
“After the past two seasons were impacted by the pandemic, to have two-day matches returning to the men’s competition and T20 matches back for the women’s competition is a fantastic outcome.
“Not only that, but to be able to align large parts of the season with the domestic schedule will give players the best chance of preparing and putting themselves in the frame for higher honours.
“It has been a challenging couple of years for all involved in community sport, but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
The men’s first XI fixture will see each club play eight two-day matches and seven one-day matches.
Two-day matches will be played in separate blocks at the start and end of the season, to align with Marsh Sheffield Shield fixtures.
One-day matches will be played across November, December and early January.
The T20 Super Slam competition will also return, with five rounds and finals played on Tuesday nights from late November.
In the women’s first XI competition, each team will play 14 one-day matches – two against each opposition club – and seven T20 matches.
The first XI season will begin with two weekends of double-header T20 matches to provide the ideal preparation for players ahead of the Weber Women’s Big Bash League.
The second and third XI competitions, which will include the Greenvale Kangaroos for the first time, will be prominently one-day matches.
