Two of the region’s biggest sporting bodies have reached a major agreement that could see the football season played well into October.AFL Victoria will be allowed to have priority access to ovals for home and away competitions until Sunday, October 27, with finals to then be completed by October 11 for juniors and October 18 for seniors.Cricket Victoria’s Premier Cricket first and second XI competition is expected to start from October 10, juniors from October 16 and all other seniors from October 23.Where community football competitions choose to not start their season or have completed their season by the end of September, cricket associations will start from October 1 as originally scheduled.Finley Cats Cricket Club president Matt Whitty said while it is still unclear how this decision will impact on competition in the Southern Riverina, it does inspire some hope both sports could be played this year.‘‘So far we don’t know about the Murray League (football) season and whether it will go ahead,’’ Whitty said.‘‘If it doesn’t go ahead we may be starting the cricket season as we normally would.‘‘The same would go for the Picola & District League season.‘‘If one league goes ahead and the other doesn’t, the Murray Valley Cricket Association will have to decide the schedule of the 2020/21 season.‘‘Until then, we just have to play it by ear.’’AFL Victoria head of community football Stephen O’Donohue thanked the team at Cricket Victoria for working with them on the new agreement.‘‘We are pleased to have reached this outcome for cricket and football, sports that mean so much to many people,’’ he said.‘‘We will continue to consult closely with the state government and relevant medical authorities, and if a further easing of restrictions is to occur, we now have the flexibility that provides local football leagues with an opportunity to hopefully get games away in the coming months.’’Cricket Victoria chief executive Andrew Ingleton said the decision ‘‘delivers a fair outcome for both cricket and football to conduct our seasons as close to normal as we can in the current landscape’’.‘‘We understand our respective communities and our partners in state and local government are looking for clear direction on upcoming seasons and this agreement provides that,” Ingleton said.In a normal season, on grounds used for both football and cricket, there would be a three or four week break between football and cricket seasons.This is to ensure wickets can be adequately prepared, and there is enough time for hand over of facilities between clubs.
- with Braydon May.