Officials from the Bendigo District and Emu Valley associations recently took part in the first stage of a wide-ranging review into Victorian country cricket.

They met former International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia chief executive officer David Richards at a meeting in Shepparton last month to discuss the state of play in the Northern Rivers region.

The BDCA was represented by president Wayne Walsh and treasurer Travis Harling, while Emu Valley president Ron Gray and secretary Mark Roberts also attended.

Richards has now visited all eight country regions, speaking to regional boards, association presidents and other key stake-holders in the game.

He has discussed issues including participation, facilities, development and the overall governance of country cricket.

"I have been impressed with everyone’s passion for the game and their willingness to talk frankly about the challenges facing its future development,” he said.

Northern Rivers regional manager Ben DeAraugo said the November 26 meeting was an opportunity for local officials to voice their opinions about what was working well in country cricket and what could be done better.

“Presidents from six of the eight associations in our region were at the meeting and I caught up with the two others as well, so it was a good opportunity for all the clubs in our area to be represented,” DeAraugo said.

“We talked about the amount of volunteers and how we can recruit and retain more volunteers in the sport, and how to keep participation rates at a high level."

He said Richards had listened to all the views expressed at the meeting, and would return after Christmas to ensure he had everything covered.

“The most important part of David‘s review was that he wanted everyone to have their say and hear from as many people as possible.”

Richards is due to report back to the Cricket Victoria board in mid-March.

Submissions from clubs and individuals can still be made, and should be sent to cricketreview1415@gmail.com