Forum sets pace for uni cricket

Sport

The Adelaide University Cricket Club has played a key role in bringing together leaders of Australian university cricket, with the aim of building a stronger future for the game.

The inaugural Australian University Cricket Clubs Forum was the brainchild of Greg Howe, a former secretary of the Adelaide University Cricket Club who currently has an advisory role with the club.

Held recently at the University of Sydney, the Forum involved representatives of the cricket clubs of the universities of Adelaide, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Melbourne, New South Wales and Sydney, with an apology from ANU. Each of these university cricket clubs compete at the top level of competition in their states.

The event was chaired by the Patron of Sydney University Cricket Club, and a former chair of Cricket Australia, Mr Alan Crompton AO.

"We suggested that such a meeting would be an ideal opportunity for clubs to discuss similar issues confronting all of them, such as recruitment and retention of undergraduates, involvement of overseas students, promotion and development of women's cricket, grounds maintenance and funding issues, sponsorship, establishment of Foundations, and the promotion and development of intervarsity competitions," Mr Howe said.

"The Forum was an extremely useful exercise in not only discussing all of these relevant issues and challenges confronting the various cricket clubs around Australia, but establishing a common bond and point of contact between all of the clubs, which will undoubtedly be to our mutual benefit in years to come.

"It is remarkable how many of the issues and challenges facing the clubs are similar around Australia, and the Forum certainly underscored the vibrancy, relevance and importance of university cricket as an integral part of the landscape of Australian cricket," Mr Howe said.

"One of the matters about which all clubs agreed was that discussions would be held with Australian University Sport as to the feasibility of conducting a national intervarsity competition - either in Twenty20 format or some other format - in the near future, and we expect that further discussions will be pursued over the coming months."

Mr Howe said the Forum was likely to return on an annual or bi-annual basis.