Adelaide Hills Cricket (HCA, TVCA & A&EH)

[daysofourlives]

There was a bit of talk about a ‘Super League’ maybe 7 or 8 years ago when Lobethal, Woodside and Kersbrook were regularly the top 3 in TVCA. The theory being that those 3 clubs would field their second side in the TVCA A Grade comp and still be reasonably competitive. With these clubs no longer in the league I don’t think it’s something that would benefit TVCA. If say Gumeracha and Palmer were to enter a SL, their second sides would struggle at A Grade level, and with only 17 teams in the league, the loss of a couple would leave it even thinner.

A hypothetical 8 team comp would probably initially consist of Meadows, Mt Lofty, Flagstaff Hill/SCIBs, Nairne, Woodside, Strathalbyn, Gumeracha and Palmer.

The concept seems to work quite well in netball.

Why dont they combine all the leagues? Would make it easier for the smaller towns/clubs to find their level of competition by having more grade options available

[Trader]

Agreed dools. Just chuck them all in together and have Div 1 to 5 or 6ish, whatever is required to get all clubs and all teams in, promotion and relegations, etc.
Div 1 and 2 can be 2-day cricket and Divs 3 down 1 dayers.

[Corona Man]

Agreed dools. Just chuck them all in together and have Div 1 to 5 or 6ish, whatever is required to get all clubs and all teams in, promotion and relegations, etc.
Div 1 and 2 can be 2-day cricket and Divs 3 down 1 dayers.

I like this idea.... all we need is a group of guys from the 3 associations to come together & make it happen....The only way this could work is all clubs, all teams from the 3 associations come together to form the league.

In terms of "representative" cricket - Myer Shield, and the Underage stuff, I reckon that's fairly simple. Clubs already aligned with A&EH, their players play for A&EH, the same for Hills & TVCA clubs.... their players still suit up in representative cricket for their Association of origin!

It would involve more travel I guess, consider say Flagstaff Hill travelling to Cambrai for a game.....that would be about the worst of it, and there are ways that it could be avoided as well.

But how good would the comp be - Nairne, Meadows, Gumeracha, Woodside, SCIBS, Strath, Langhorne Creek... etc Div 1 would be a decent standard. It would take a season or 2 to sort itself out, but it would be fantastic.

[saintal]

Would be an interesting concept. Relegation/promotion could work similar to the amateur league footy (although care would need to be taken to avoid a club having two sides in the one grade where possible). The top 5 divisions could look something like this:

Meadows, Mt Lofty , Flagstaff Hill, Nairne, Woodside, Strathalbyn, Gumeracha, Palmer

Scott Creek/Ironbank, Aldgate, Happy Valley, Langhorne Creek, Lobethal, Ashbourne, Paracombe, Cambrai

Kangarilla, Uraidla, Bridgewater, Stirling, Wistow, Hahndorf, Lenswood, Eden Valley

Mylor, Onkas, Eastern Ranges, Basket Range, Mt Barker, Springton, Mt Torrens, Birdwood

Flagstaff Hill B, Clapham, Nairne B, Woodside B, Macclesfield, Echunga, Finniss, Bremer/Cally

[Corona Man]

Would be an interesting concept. Relegation/promotion could work similar to the amateur league footy (although care would need to be taken to avoid a club having two sides in the one grade where possible). The top 5 divisions could look something like this:

Meadows, Mt Lofty , Flagstaff Hill, Nairne, Woodside, Strathalbyn, Gumeracha, Palmer

Scott Creek/Ironbank, Aldgate, Happy Valley, Langhorne Creek, Lobethal, Ashbourne, Paracombe, Cambrai

Kangarilla, Uraidla, Bridgewater, Stirling, Wistow, Hahndorf, Lenswood, Eden Valley

Mylor, Onkas, Eastern Ranges, Basket Range, Mt Barker, Springton, Mt Torrens, Birdwood

Flagstaff Hill B, Clapham, Nairne B, Woodside B, Macclesfield, Echunga, Finniss, Bremer/Cally

That's an excellent start.... interesting though you have 5 divisions here, and mainly just club "firsts".... Strath B & Ashbourne B would have to be in that mix as well. So add in all the "seconds", "thirds" etc and you are looking at probably 8 or 9 divisions.... still promotion/relegation and away you go. Good work Saintal.

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

Could Great Southern teams be included in the mix?

To overcome any distance concerns could you have a Northern and Southern Conference. with minor rounds played within your home conference and finals played between say the top four teams in each division of each conference. You could have a conference winner and ultimate champion. Would certainly be more interesting than playing the same teams year in year out.

[kickittome]

Great win to strathalbyn upsetting nairne in the semi who were chasing 8 flags straight. Some of the tightest bowling you will witness plus the thrilling finish had everyone on edge. Strath having been minor premiers the last 2 years went into last weeks semi huge underdogs & played with nothing to lose & will be hoping they can win there first a grade flag since 97/98. Woodside as well haven't won an a grade flag surprisingly since 94/95. So the winner is going to be celebrating in a big way. Woodside have beaten strath both times this year but that means nothing in finals as we saw last week.
What's your odds & thoughts jackpot Jim"?

[kickittome]

I'd be very surprised if 2 day cricket was banished altogether from A&EHCA.
Nairne pushed hard for all 1 day cricket for A grade a few years ago now and it was surprisingly decisively defeated.
They did make some very valid points in their proposal.
I think as long as the program remains a 50/50 mix of 2 and 1 dayers, most are happy.
Agree that without a huge influx of talent that Maccy, Echunga, Finniss and Cally are a long way off returning to A Grade.
Hahndorf i cant see coming back up whilst they only have the 1 Senior team and i think they would rather the 1 day format of A2s
Mt Barker have indicated they are working on returning to A Grade and i guess thats possible. Would need a few recruits i guess but
if theyre really dinkum about it thats surely not too hard to do?
FWIW i think the A Grade will eventually down the track be all 1 dayers, dont think it will be next season tho.

Might be a close vote for all one dayers in a grade next year. Wait & see but have noticed even in finals last week some teams couldn't get the same 11 for both days! I know at strath we went in to a final with some players that hadn't had a hit in 4 weeks due to a bye & pushing for outright. This often occurs but wouldn't happen in a one day comp keeping everyone involved & interested each Saturday.
Having seen a fair mixture of a grade & a2s this year I believe Hahndorf despite not making the gf would be the team to go up. There top 5 players all are capable of a grade but they struggled to field 11 each week with only 1 senior team is a bit of a worry. Would rate there bowling better standard than ashbourne's. Batting still very reliant on hassold when he is available so would require 3 or 4 recruits as would any team planning to go up to a grade.
I do like the super league idea with juniors not following seniors on a Saturday wouldn't be to hard to setup & after a few years could really set up 5 or so really even comps.

[Ye Olde Place Kick]

Would be an interesting concept. Relegation/promotion could work similar to the amateur league footy (although care would need to be taken to avoid a club having two sides in the one grade where possible). The top 5 divisions could look something like this:

Meadows, Mt Lofty , Flagstaff Hill, Nairne, Woodside, Strathalbyn, Gumeracha, Palmer

Scott Creek/Ironbank, Aldgate, Happy Valley, Langhorne Creek, Lobethal, Ashbourne, Paracombe, Cambrai

Kangarilla, Uraidla, Bridgewater, Stirling, Wistow, Hahndorf, Lenswood, Eden Valley

Mylor, Onkas, Eastern Ranges, Basket Range, Mt Barker, Springton, Mt Torrens, Birdwood

Flagstaff Hill B, Clapham, Nairne B, Woodside B, Macclesfield, Echunga, Finniss, Bremer/Cally

Have wondered about this for a couple of seasons.
Good start Saintal but perhaps consider a few changes, mainly because of travel. ( Cambrai to Happy Valley or Eden Valley to Kangarilla would make for a long day.
Would keep your top 8 as a Super/Premier league.
Combine the next two grades into A grade North and South so cut back the travel.
Continue this theme down thro the grades B North and South, C North and South etc.
Not allow a club to have 2 sides in the same grade, if necessary have one side in the North and one in the South especially if the club was fairly central.
In the Super/Premier and perhaps the A grade comps each team plays 1 two day and 1 one day game against each other. Start with 3 or 4 2 days then around xmas new year period play 7 one day games ( good if people are unavailable for a week or two in the holidays) then finish with the remainder of the 2 days.
All other grades 1 day only.
Have promotion into the S/P league if the Premiers of the 2 A grade comps want too. (clubs choice) Bottom 2 to drop down. Then automatic promotion/relegation between A to B, B to C etc. Whether 1 or 2 up/down would be another question. Think this would allow teams to find their natural level but also give a challenge if a club wants to improve itself.
Anyway discussion on feel free to add constructive comments.

PS - think your club Saintal is Lenswood. Trivia they have over the years played in all 3 associations going back to the 70/80's the only one off the top of my head to do so although uncertain about Onka's.

[saintal]

Yeah, my allocation was just a quick 10 min effort based on this year’s ladders without considering travel/logistics. I like the north/south idea, to save on travel and to retain some of those local rivalries. 10 teams in each of the lower divisions would work well, playing each team in a couple of one dayers to make up an 18 week season.

Correct about Lenswood, I believe we were very well travelled for a period. Have heard a few stories about grudge matches against Aldgate in particular. Believe we used to play in a comp (eastern suburbs/hills?) involving teams from Magill/Hectorville/Campbelltown area also.

[Corona Man]

Some interesting thoughts added to this conversation re joining the 3 "hills" based leagues into one comp. I don't mind Roxy's suggestion of including the GSCA in the mix and coming up with North & South Conferences..... maybe that is the second step in the process. In terms of juniors, thinking more about it - it would be better if there comps were kept in either there current format, or into a North/South division to keep travelling to a minimum. Can't see under 14 parents wanting to travel for 1.5 hours on a Saturday morning for a game....At this stage it's a pipe dream in many ways though, as I can't see Association Presidents, voting to "disband" their own Association. While things in the top level of A&EH are not ideal, with the bye, the comp itself is reasonably healthy. My take is the Hills comp is going ok. The TVCA, not so much, I say that as an observation, not as a knock to the TVCA guys.... who in years gone bye, were the strongest of the 3 comps.

[Dutchy]

Good discussion, you wonder if the SACA would support it as it could possibly take away players from the lower grade comps. However it a new structure may also appeal to clubs in the Coro/Blackwood/Foothills area making it even stronger. Some say about the travel factor, but thats happening in Hills footy already so no great difference. The crazy thing is there are numerous towns/clubs 5 minutes apart that are in different associations, so in some scenarios there might be less travel overall. Off the top of my head -

Woodside/Onka's
Meadows/Echunga
Echunga/Mylor
Meadows/Maccy
Uraidla/Woodside
Bridgewater/Hahndorf
Basket Range/Lenswood
Ashbourne/Meadows

[Corona Man]

Good discussion, you wonder if the SACA would support it as it could possibly take away players from the lower grade comps. However it a new structure may also appeal to clubs in the Coro/Blackwood/Foothills area making it even stronger. Some say about the travel factor, but thats happening in Hills footy already so no great difference. The crazy thing is there are numerous towns/clubs 5 minutes apart that are in different associations, so in some scenarios there might be less travel overall. Off the top of my head -

Woodside/Onka's
Meadows/Echunga
Echunga/Mylor
Meadows/Maccy
Uraidla/Woodside
Bridgewater/Hahndorf
Basket Range/Lenswood
Ashbourne/Meadows

You are quite correct there Dutchy, in some cases an amalgamation could well mean less travel. The trip back from Finniss for us, often includes several "refreshment stops"..... actually, now I think of it, I would miss that part!

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

Good discussion, you wonder if the SACA would support it as it could possibly take away players from the lower grade comps. However it a new structure may also appeal to clubs in the Coro/Blackwood/Foothills area making it even stronger. Some say about the travel factor, but thats happening in Hills footy already so no great difference. The crazy thing is there are numerous towns/clubs 5 minutes apart that are in different associations, so in some scenarios there might be less travel overall. Off the top of my head -

Woodside/Onka's
Meadows/Echunga
Echunga/Mylor
Meadows/Maccy
Uraidla/Woodside
Bridgewater/Hahndorf
Basket Range/Lenswood
Ashbourne/Meadows

You are quite correct there Dutchy, in some cases an amalgamation could well mean less travel. The trip back from Finniss for us, often includes several "refreshment stops"..... actually, now I think of it, I would miss that part!

Book me in for a trip back from Paracombe

[Trader]

Travel isn't great, but if you have to do it once a season you can make a bit of a road trip of it and it's not that bad.
ATCA has teams like Reynella, Brighton and SHOC heading out to play Penfield and Trinity OS.

[Corona Man]

Good discussion, you wonder if the SACA would support it as it could possibly take away players from the lower grade comps. However it a new structure may also appeal to clubs in the Coro/Blackwood/Foothills area making it even stronger. Some say about the travel factor, but thats happening in Hills footy already so no great difference. The crazy thing is there are numerous towns/clubs 5 minutes apart that are in different associations, so in some scenarios there might be less travel overall. Off the top of my head -

Woodside/Onka's
Meadows/Echunga
Echunga/Mylor
Meadows/Maccy
Uraidla/Woodside
Bridgewater/Hahndorf
Basket Range/Lenswood
Ashbourne/Meadows

You are quite correct there Dutchy, in some cases an amalgamation could well mean less travel. The trip back from Finniss for us, often includes several "refreshment stops"..... actually, now I think of it, I would miss that part!

Book me in for a trip back from Paracombe

Haha a few watering holes on that trip - Lobethal pub/s, Woodside pub/s, Oakbank pub, Balhannah pub, Littlehampton pub, Mount Barker pub/s, Maccy pub/s and Meadows for a quick one..... That trip could take a week

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

Messy!

[The Bedge]

All these pubs.. I wanna play Hills now

[Roxy the Rat Girl]

All these pubs.. I wanna play Hills now

Maybe thats how we should market it. "play cricket in the Hills super league, every weeks a pub crawl"

[Keefy]

Good discussion, you wonder if the SACA would support it as it could possibly take away players from the lower grade comps. However it a new structure may also appeal to clubs in the Coro/Blackwood/Foothills area making it even stronger. Some say about the travel factor, but thats happening in Hills footy already so no great difference. The crazy thing is there are numerous towns/clubs 5 minutes apart that are in different associations, so in some scenarios there might be less travel overall. Off the top of my head -

Woodside/Onka's
Meadows/Echunga
Echunga/Mylor
Meadows/Maccy
Uraidla/Woodside
Bridgewater/Hahndorf
Basket Range/Lenswood
Ashbourne/Meadows

Wouldn't see the likes of Coro Ramblers, Coromandel and Belair leaving ASCA