General News
17 May, 2023
Clubs merge
NOORAT and Terang cricket clubs have announced they will merge and enter the Warrnambool and District League from season 2023-24.
NOORAT and Terang cricket clubs have announced they will merge and enter the Warrnambool and District League from season 2023-24.
To be known as the Noorat Terang Lions, the move has been seen as an extremely positive one by both clubs, with players keen to test themselves in a different league against unknown opposition.
“It (playing in district league) will be a great challenge for all our players and everyone is really excited for the challenges ahead,” current Noorat president Michael Williams said.
“At this stage there is still a lot to sort through but we received approval from the Warrnambool league earlier this week to enter the competition and now the work begins.”
Amalgamation talks between Noorat and Terang began back in about February this year, with both clubs quickly coming to the conclusion that the move was in the best interests of both.
“We both believe this merge is in our best interests moving forward and we will now hold discussions on everything from forming a committee through to coaching appointments and the like.”
It is anticipated the Lions will look to field three senior sides and two (or possibly three) junior teams in its inaugural season, with plans to expand in years to come.
Last season, both clubs fielded division one and three sides in the south west competition and combined to enter under 16 and under 13 sides.
“Our clubs are very similar in membership and player numbers so it’s a perfect match really,” current Terang president William Moloney said.
“The Warrnambool league offers a very structured junior competition, with under 11s, 13s, 14s, 15s and 17s, with the addition of a girls’ competition which we also hope to enter.”
It is believed the Lions’ division one side will play its home games on the turf wicket at Terang, while divisions two and three will use the Noorat ground as their home base.
Training arrangements are currently being worked on, with player recruitment and coaching appointments to commence in coming weeks.
“Our goal for our first season is to be competitive and we believe that’s a realistic goal,” Moloney said.
“We have set June 5 down as our annual meeting so we’ll know more details after that.”
Terang and Noorat’s move away from the South West association follows the earlier departure of neighbouring club, Mortlake.
This leaves the South West Cricket Association with just 10 clubs – Bookaar, Boorcan, Camperdown, Cobden, Ecklin, Heytesbury Rebels, Pomborneit, Princetown, Simpson and Woorndoo.
The association will hold a delegates meeting on May 24 for clubs to discuss how the competition would look next season.
At this stage it was anticipated there would likely be six division one teams, seven division two and 10 division three.
Noorat Terang Lions will bring to 18 the number of clubs in the Warrnambool and District Association.