READ MORE - BDCA SEASON PREVIEW PART 1

READ MORE - BDCA SEASON PREVIEW PART 2

WHAT a sight it will be on Saturday to finally see the lonely ovals of Bendigo and surrounds once again in use for community sport.

Apart from a brief return of junior sport in July for two weeks, the region's ovals have laid dormant for more than seven months due to the COVID-19 enforced shutdown of community sport in 2020.

For those of whom community sport plays such a major part in their lives, be it participating, supporting or employed within it, the past seven months have been mighty tough, but Saturday marks the next step on the path of regaining some sense of normality - what will be now known as COVID normal - when cricket hits off for 2020-21.

Midweek lawn bowls got going earlier this week, the Bendigo Tennis Association pennant season has hit off, Bendigo Little Athletics resumes this weekend and with cricket set to get under way there is certainly a strong summer sport vibe that is warmly welcomed after such a dreary winter.

Of course, all these sports will look that bit different to the last time we saw them earlier this year given all the various COVID-19 protocols that must be adhered to.

READ MORE - WEEKEND CRICKET TEAMS

While there was much spoken and written about during the winter months of the plight that faced the likes of football, netball, soccer, basketball and so on and the "will they or won't they play" as leagues and associations desperately hoped to be able to salvage some sort of a season that ultimately never came to be, cricket certainly didn't escape the perils of the pandemic either.

In fact, cricket provided the first indicator of what was to come in 2020 regarding the decimation of community sport.

Remember back to Tuesday, March 17, when the Bendigo District Cricket Association made the move to call of the upcoming weekend's grand finals, headlined by the clash between the two clear season standouts in Strathdale-Maristians and Huntly-North Epsom.

The BDCA board's decision followed a recommendation from Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria that all cricket be cancelled for the remainder of the season as a COVID-19 risk mitigation measure.

Two days later the Emu Valley Cricket Association board made the same call to also pull the pin on its upcoming grand final - although, not before originally making the decision to press on with it, with the marquee game set to be the division one clash between United and Emu Creek.

As such, Strathdale-Maristians and United were awarded pandemic premierships courtesy of being the higher-placed sides.

The abandonment of the grand finals was a bitterly disappointing end to the 2019-20 season, but clearly, health and safety had to be prioritised over a game.

But that was seven months ago and now we can look forward to a new season that will - hopefully - be free of any COVID-19 interruptions that could cause a derailment as happened back in March.

This season comes with a major difference though - it will be purely one-day games given the uncertainty that COVID-19 could still have on competitions.

All four competitions covered by the Bendigo Advertiser - the BDCA, EVCA, Upper Loddon (also starting Saturday) and Northern United (starting next Saturday) - will all be one-day matches only.

While the BDCA and EVCA traditionalists (the ULCA and NUCA had already reverted to one-day games only) may be disappointed to see the two-day format in hiatus, an all-one day competition shapes as an exciting concept given its propensity to have more unpredictability.

The chances of upsets in a shortened format of the game are far greater than those of a two-dayer where there's more time for the gaps in standards between teams to be exposed.

The all one-day competition also paves the way for a balanced home and away fixture in which all teams play each other twice and in the BDCA and EVCA it starts with a bang on Saturday.

We'll get a reminder of what we missed out on last season when Strathdale-Maristians host Huntly-North Epsom in a re-match of the "grand final that never was", while the great EVCA rivalry between United and Spring Gully - two teams that look well-placed to be right in the thick of the action come March again - lock horns out at Epsom-Huntly.

The early rounds of the BDCA season also come with the added bonus of an injection of Premier Cricket talent given its delayed start of November 28.

Can't wait to see Essendon's Liam "The Wizard" Bowe with 11 Big Bash wickets under his belt for the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunder since he last played for Sandhurst in the season-proper in 2015-16 rolling out his left-arm leggies again for the Dragons, starting against Kangaroo Flat at Dower Park.

Meanwhile, Saturday's start of the new season comes with a heightened sense of anticipation for Maiden Gully Marist as it embarks on a new era.

In the morning the Lions' young cubs will begin their foray into the BDCA's under-18 competition with an immediate testing assignment - taking on Strathdale-Maristians, who have won the past five flags.

Then in the afternoon the Lions will begin life in their new home - the Castlemaine District Cricket Association - when their division one side hosts Newstead in what will be the first time the newly-laid turf wicket at Marist College will be utilised in an official match.

"It's very exciting... it's going to be a challenge for the players who haven't played on turf before," Lions president Neil Byers said.

"It's a big day for the club starting with the under-18s and then we'll play our first game in the Castlemaine District competition in the afternoon.

"We don't know what the quality of the Castlemaine District competition is at the moment compared to Emu Valley and it's a different game on turf compared to hard wicket.

"It going to be a season of learning, but we're certainly looking forward to it."

The Lions' division one side will be captained by Craig Green, who has returned to the club.

Good luck to the Lions in their new endeavour and to all players, clubs and umpires embarking on season 2020-21.

Having been denied so much community sport this year, the shout of "howzat" on the cricket field on Saturday will never have sounded so sweet.... unless you're the batsman who has been rapped on the pads.

BENDIGO DISTRICT

Strathdale-Maristians v Huntly-North Epsom

Strathfieldsaye v Bendigo

Bendigo United v White Hills

Kangaroo Flat v Sandhurst

Eaglehawk v Golden Square

.........................................

EMU VALLEY

Mandurang v Sedgwick

West Bendigo v Emu Creek

Marong v Axe Creek

United v Spring Gully

California Gully bye

.........................................

UPPER LODDON

Bridgewater v Wedderburn

Boort-Yando v Newbridge

Kingower v Arnold

.........................................

BDCA JUNIORS

Under-16A

Under-14A

Under-12A (Sunday)

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