Poowong-Loch Cricket Club leaves the field

By Andrew Paloczi

LEONGATHA and District Cricket Association (LDCA) president John Schelling hopes Poowong Loch Cricket Club can be revived for future seasons after its administration made the difficult decision to put the club into recess due to a lack of players.

That decision followed an opening round in which the club forfeited its scheduled clash with Imperials.

Poowong-Loch achieved a stunning result last season, claiming the B2 premiership and being promoted to B1 competition for the 2022/23 campaign.

“We surprised ourselves,” then club manager Garry Knox said of that glorious achievement, adding that everything fell into place as the side won close matches in the semi final and the decider.

However, some of the side that achieved that success had been coaxed out of retirement by a new and enthusiastic committee to keep Poowong-Loch afloat, and never intended to continue on this season.

Association president Schelling feels greater support from younger local players would have been the key to ongoing sustainability of the club.

“It’s disappointing from the LDCA’s point of view that they haven’t been supported by their local players,” he said, adding some of those cricketers have chosen to play elsewhere.

However, Poowong-Loch coach and president Peter Miller views the situation differently, arguing there are few locals who could have made an impact in B Grade competition.

“There are maybe five at different clubs and a couple are struggling C Grade players,” Miller said.

He pointed out that with no junior sides these days, Poowong-Loch lacks a breeding ground for emerging cricketers.

Miller also believes the absence of a high school in Poowong and Loch hurts sport in the local area, with young people choosing to join teams elsewhere to play alongside schoolmates.

The Monday night committee vote to put the club into recess was unanimous, with committee members having previously worked hard to try to secure enough players for the season.

Schelling said the loss of the club is magnified by the fact Poowong and Loch are showing promising signs in terms of population growth, making a local cricket team all the more important.

He feels for those who have worked to keep the club on the field.

“I’m disappointed mainly for the people who have worked their butts off to try and keep it alive,” Schelling said.

He added that the association has done its utmost to help achieve that outcome, organising meetings to discuss the situation and identify opportunities for survival.

The LDCA president acknowledged it is getting tougher for volunteers in today’s sporting environment.

Schelling hoped the addition of a couple of reasonable cricketers last season, such as this year’s chosen captain Shannon Rozario, would encourage others to jump on board at Poowong-Loch.

“We were hoping they’d get a groundswell,” he said, stressing the association will continue to work with those at Poowong-Loch to try to revive the club for future seasons.

President and coach Miller doesn’t believe the step up to a higher division influenced the decision of those Poowong-Loch players who chose not to continue this season.

While Miller was willing to fill in when required, he had elected to edge towards retirement as a player, and Knox was in a similar category having played most of last season as a fill in.

Knox considers that had Poowong-Loch managed to field a side this campaign, the crunch would have come in 2023/24 when the club would have been required to enter an A Grade side.

The club was previously granted special dispensation to play in B Grade without being required to have an A Grade team, having lost a number of players.

“The expectation was they would be an A2 side next year,” Schelling acknowledged.

He argued that would have long-term benefits for the club.

“Everyone understands kids want to play A Grade cricket,” Schelling said.

He pointed to Foster as an example of a club successfully making the move up to that level, having been required to take that step a few years ago.

“They played in a grand final last year in A2, so it’s possible,” Schelling said.

Knox believes the only way Poowong-Loch could have fielded a competitive side in A Grade competition would have been to buy in players, a road he said the club didn’t want to go down.

With few businesses in its towns to provide sponsorship, Poowong-Loch would have needed to raise large sums of money through events such as sportsmen’s nights, he argued.

Furthermore, Knox said that if players came for the money and played well enough at a small club like Poowong-Loch, they would then likely be offered more by bigger clubs to shift elsewhere.

Miller said with a shortage of cricketers at many clubs, those Poowong-Loch players wishing to continue will find other teams.

He started his cricket journey at Poowong over 50 years ago, when Loch was a separate club, and was happy to return to his roots last season when recruited by Knox and then club president Alex Dixon.

While Miller is sad to see the club go and believes many in the community will find it disappointing, he said lots of locals have moved to the area in recent times and won’t feel the loss so acutely.

However, he believes cricket clubs play an important role in boosting mental health and forming bonds between those involved in playing for and running them.

While Miller is not confident Poowong-Loch will return to the field, he hasn’t given up hope.