A ONE-DAY final for the Keck-Findlay Shield has been added to the Bendigo District Cricket Association’s fixture for the upcoming season.
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And it will be played on Australia Day as a day-night game at the Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Previously the winner of the Keck-Findlay Shield – which honours BDCA Hall of Fame members Doug Keck and Barry Findlay – has been awarded to the first XI team that had the best record over the one-day rounds.
BDCA secretary Travis Harling said the introduction of a one-day final followed strong support from clubs.
“It has come off the back of clubs wanting it, so we’ve added it into our fixture for this season,” Harling said on Thursday.
“Having a white-ball final is something that has been spoken about for a while now, so we’re looking forward to it coming in this season.”
Australia Day next year falls on a Friday, but the two teams who play in the one-day final won’t need to back up and play again the following day.
The BDCA will instead play a first XI Saturday-Sunday round the previous weekend.
All first XI teams will have the following weekend off.
The 2017-18 fixture is still to be released, but the season is scheduled to start on Saturday, October 7, and again be played over 13 rounds – nine two-dayers and four one-dayers.
The BDCA will also schedule in reserve days for its Twenty20 competition to allow for washed out matches to be rescheduled.
Sunday, December 17, has been penciled in for any washed out matches from rounds one to three to be played.
And Sunday, January 14, is the date for washed out games in round four or five to be played.
The introduction of reserve days follows a rain-affected Twenty20 tournament last season when some washed out games were re-scheduled, but others weren’t.
Meanwhile, the BDCA held its annual general meeting at Eaglehawk earlier this week, with executive positions being filled by Wayne Walsh (president), Robert Bakes (vice president), Harling (secretary) and David Baird (treasurer).