Sport
5 June, 2024
Pombo latest to depart South West Cricket
POMBORNEIT Cricket Club has announced its senior men’s teams will leave the South West Cricket competition ahead of next season.
At a special general meeting last Wednesday night, the members of the Pomborneit Cricket Club unanimously voted to move its senior men's teams to the Colac District Cricket Association (CDCA) for the 2024/25 season.
Pomborneit Cricket Club president Dave Murphy said the decision was a difficult one from a perspective of tradition, but the club was overwhelmingly in favour of the move.
A founding member of the South West Cricket Association, Pomborneit has been one of just two clubs to play Division 1 in every season of the competition to date.
“While South West Cricket has been a fantastic competition to play in for nearly 30 years, the losses of traditionally strong Division 1 clubs in Mortlake, Noorat and Terang over the past two years have greatly diminished the competition,” he said.
“While losing those clubs and Simpson have also hurt the lower grades, especially numbers wise.
“We feel the time is right to give our players the best opportunities and standard of cricket going forward in a bigger competition.
“We have been part of CDCA female competitions for five years now, and CDCA junior boys’ competitions for the last two seasons.
“We find it a strong, professional organ-isation and where we now see our long-term future to be.”
Murphy said Pomborneit had stayed firm with South West Cricket after the departures of Mortlake in 2022 and Noorat and Terang in 2023, but the time for the move was right.
“It was now time to go with the head not the heart and do what was best for the club,” he said.
“The club will not be making any further comment at this stage as we start the process of applying to transfer to the Colac District Cricket Association.”