Huge blow for club cricket

Wairarapa cricket has been dealt a blow, with the Bracewell Academy XI withdrawing from playing in the Bidwell Cup senior men's inter-club competition.
The decision came after they were forced to default their match against Red Star last weekend because of a shortage of players.
Team organiser Brendon Bracewell said today the stage had been reached where it was simply not possible for the academy to field a side, and comply with rules which said that teams could not make more than two changes to their playing personnel, between the first and second days of Bidwell Cup games..
Their withdrawal means the Bidwell Cup series is now down to five teams?.Lansdowne, Greytown, Red Star, Rathkeale College and Wairarapa College.
"We've done everything we can to get a team on the field, but the numbers just aren't there," Bracewell said. "We'll still be available to play one day friendlies if the clubs left with the bye want but that's about it."
Bracewell said overseas players attending his high performance centre at Rathkeale College were the mainstays of the academy line-up, but their numbers had been reduced this season through Zimbabwean-based players not receiving visas to come here because of the political situation existing in their own country.
As many as six Zimbabweans were expected and their demise meant the centre was left with just the four overseas players, all from England, and it had become increasingly difficult to build that number to 11 for Saturday play.
"We do have players from other parts of New Zealand at the centre, but you often get the situation where they can play one Saturday and not the next," Bracewell said. "It's a transient thing and, of course, it makes complying with the rules very difficult at times."
Bracewell is still optimistic, however, that the numbers of overseas players available to the academy from the high performance centre next season will grow to the point where they can again take a full part in inter-club competitions.
"We're certainly not saying that this is the end of the academy team, that's something which we will have to look at from year to year," he said.
Wairarapa Cricket Association chairman Grant Perry described the academy's Bidwell Cup withdrawl as "very disappointing" but he could understand and appreciate the reasons behind it.
"They've been good for Wairarapa cricket and hopefully they'll have a big part to play in the future," he said.
Perry said the academy withdrawal and the fact that two of the three Bidwell Cup games scheduled to get under way last Saturday had been won by default would be discussed at an urgent meeting of the cricket association's management committee this week.
The second default came in the Rathkeale College v Greytown match with Rathkeale pulling out because of a clash with an inter-school fixture.
"When you have two defaults in three games you have to start asking questions," Perry said. "It's a bad look for the competition and we have to do everything we can to ensure it doesn't happen again."
Just how many points the two teams benefitting from the defaults ? Red Star and Greytown-will receive is yet to confirmed.
There was talk they would receive the maximum points coming out of the only game being played, that between Lansdowne and Wairarapa College, but Perry said no definite decision had been made in that regard.
"What we need to do is look at the circumstances of the two defaults, and decide what is the fairest points situation for all teams," he said.
Perry emphasised, however, that it was not all doom and gloom for Wairarapa cricket, with junior numbers on the increase and age group representative teams competing very successfully in the tournament arena.