The Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) is going to have a slightly different look when the first teams head out to the middle on Saturday.
The landscape of the competition has changed from the second flight down with a new level being formed.
District and A Grade have merged, and now the second tier will be a combination of the remaining five senior clubs that aren’t Premier level along with five second XIs.
Carlisle Park, Emerald, Merinda Park, Nar Nar Goon-Maryknoll and Pakenham Upper-Toomuc are the senior teams whilst the seconds from Cardinia, Clyde, Kooweerup, Pakenham and Tooradin round out the competition.
Lang Lang’s firsts have dropped down to B Grade as the club rebuilds while Cranbourne Meadows won’t field a senior side.
There is no guarantee of promotion or relegation at the conclusion of the upcoming season as the Association looks towards a restructure next year.
Clubs have been given 12 months notice of the incoming restructure, allowing time to prepare for the change, meaning Officer being promoted and Merinda Park being relegated from 2024/25 is still in effect.
Every club voted in favour of the structure being assessed with the desired outcome on all fronts being a reshuffle at season’s end.
As for the lower grades, B through D Grade will run normally while E Grade features 13 teams that will be split into two leagues based on regional locations, being East and West.
The one-day competition returns while Under-15 All Star Girls is also on the calendar with six current teams, nearing the league’s target of eight.
Casey Cardinia will also keep its place in the top flight of Country Week and remain as a provincial team for this summer’s edition.
CCCA President Ben Knowles is delighted to see the action begin.
“I think it’s going to be a big summer,” he said.
“This season in CCCA is going to be competitive.
“In the A Grade competition, Tooradin has won back-to-back flags and Cardinia have come second a number of times so they can give some of these first XI clubs a run for their money.
“I love the aspect of community in community sport, it’s why we all play.
“We’re going to get around each other, share passions and have some fun.”
The first round of CCCA fixtures begin this Saturday.
