![Gunnedah Cricket needs to do something now, president Sam Doubleday says, or risk folding. Picture by Samantha Newsam. Gunnedah Cricket needs to do something now, president Sam Doubleday says, or risk folding. Picture by Samantha Newsam.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/ead95ee8-99bb-416b-be19-daa782ec6957.jpg/r371_114_2164_1275_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The shape of Tamworth District Cricket Association is set to undergo a potentially momentous change in the 2024/25 season.
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For several years, numbers in the Gunnedah District Cricket Association competitions have been in steady decline. Leading in to last season, GDCA president Sam Doubleday wasn't sure if their first grade competition would even go ahead.
The four local teams were, however, able to scrape together enough numbers.
But Doubleday is not confident they will be able to do the same in years ahead. So he began a dialogue with the TDCA recently with one idea in mind: forming representative Gunnedah teams to compete in the four Tamworth grades.
"Personally, I couldn't see the [GDCA] competition going again next year the way it was last year, number-wise," Doubleday said.
"This way, it gives the better cricketers the chance to play some good cricket, and it gives the juniors a good pathway from junior to senior cricket while still playing for Gunnedah."
A little over two weeks ago, the GDCA put the call out to its players for expressions of interest in the idea.
Four days after the deadline for responses, Doubleday said the feedback from players was "pretty positive".
The responsibility now lies with the TDCA to vote on the idea. President Chris Paterson said Tamworth's AGM has been moved forward to July, with another meeting scheduled soon afterwards so that the committee for 2024/25 can decide whether or not to move forward with the new format.
Though there is no guarantee of how the vote will go, Paterson believes the TDCA fraternity generally likes the proposed merge of Gunnedah teams into the local competition.
"I think [the feeling among the association is] positive," Paterson said.
"Gunnedah will come over here with good sides, so it'll be good cricket. So I think most of Tamworth is pretty positive about it."
If the plan does come to fruition, Doubleday still hopes to see some local cricket take place in Gunnedah next season.
While the one day competition would likely cease, he intends to keep the Friday night T20 competition going so the local clubs can still get together and play some light-hearted games.
But ultimately, Doubleday wants two things: a clear pathway for juniors, and to ensure the survival of cricket in Gunnedah.
So while he does not relish having the prospect of farewelling the bulk of the local competition in the upcoming season, he knows that playing in Tamworth gives the GDCA its best chance to achieve those objectives.
"It is something that's hard to see happen, but something's got to happen otherwise it'll just keep on the downward slide," Doubleday said.