New turf pitches for Bamawm Lockington United CC

Located south west of Echuca, BUCC’s volunteer curators had the challenge of meeting increased demands of hosting touring teams, including the Crusaders and metro squads, with just three pitches on the table.

With the help of local farmers, volunteers and business owners, the two new pitches were prepared before last Christmas.

President of the Bamawm Lockington United Cricket Club Paul Colbert said the new pitches will ease the workload on club volunteers and open new scheduling opportunities for the club.

“It will make life easier on our volunteer grounds people and curators having five wickets to work with as opposed to three. The pressure is eased with less stress on the wickets,” Colbert said.

“Our season effectively runs for seven to eight months of the year. We’ll be able to prepare two wickets for play each week throughout our season. One for our Under 16 team to play on a Friday night, and another for our senior teams on a Saturday. Hopefully, weather permitting, we’ll also open up August to Melbourne clubs with these new wickets.”

The Club Capacity and Workforce Development Grants are part of the Community Cricket Program: On Common Ground, which is a $12.4 million partnership between Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia and the Victorian Government.

Northern Rivers Regional Manager Ben DeAraugo said that the community support and engagement in the project was essential to its successful completion.

“It’s very pleasing to see the Bamawm Lockington United Cricket Club and the wider community rally behind the project,” DeAraugo said.

“Having high standard facilities is crucial to increasing participation, and the two additional pitches at Bamawm provides the club with the resources to host high-level cricket throughout an entire summer.”