Sport
13 January, 2026
MDCA executive makes tough call to cancel weekend’s play of senior cricket
As multiple bushfires rage across Victoria after catastrophic fire conditions on Friday, the MDCA made the difficult decision to postpone the return of their senior competitions.
The association’s A grade and A reserve competitions were scheduled to recommence their season on Saturday following the holiday break, with A grade gearing up to partake in their first of five two-day games.
After advising that all senior games would proceed on Friday evening, with a final call to be made at 10 am the following day, the MDCA announced on Saturday morning the verdict to reschedule the weekend’s matches.
“Due to the circumstances surrounding our region the MDCA executive has made the tough decision to cancel play this weekend,” the association said in a Facebook post Saturday morning.
“While we understand that this is disappointing for some clubs, the decision was made with the greater impact of the association in mind.”
Following the cancellation, the association has elected to revert the A grade’s first two-day matches to one-day clashes to be played this Saturday with a red ball and white clothing.
Round 10 of A reserve has been pushed to the back end of the regular season, now set to be played on Saturday, March 14.
That has forced A reserve finals to be scheduled a week later, now running in conjunction with A grade finals starting on March 21.
The cancellation was made after a majority vote by the MDCA’s executive, citing player safety for several clubs as the key motive for their decision.
One of those clubs was Beaufort, who were set to host Clunes in A grade and Colts Phelans in A reserve while a bushfire was still burning nearby on the outskirts of Skipton.
The fire destroyed the clubrooms of Carranballac Cricket Club, located just 40 km from Beaufort’s home ground at Goldfields Recreation Reserve.
In a show of support for a nearby neighbour, Beaufort’s rescheduled match with Clunes this weekend will also host a fundraiser for the fire-affected club.
Round 11 of A grade will also see Laanecoorie Dunolly aim to maintain its stranglehold on first against a finals-hungry Carisbrook and Colts Phelans looking to score their third win of the season over local rivals Maryborough.