{"id":672032,"date":"2026-05-15T06:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T06:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672032\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T06:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T06:29:11","slug":"turf-wicket-go-ahead-for-lethbridge-cricketers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672032\/","title":{"rendered":"Turf wicket go-ahead for Lethbridge cricketers"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE Lethbridge Cricket Club has a new total to chase \u2013 and it\u2019s not on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n

The total is a sum of money \u2013 $100,000 \u2013 which is the estimated cost of installing a turf wicket at its Lethbridge Recreation Reserve headquarters.<\/p>\n

That factor is now in play because the Golden Plains Shire has given landowner approval for the club to press on with its long-held desire of playing on a turf wicket.<\/p>\n

But even though approval has been given and the money has to be raised, there is a downside.<\/p>\n

Results from the most recent season meant the club earnt the right to be promoted from the Geelong Cricket Association (GCA) Division 3 to Division 2, but GCA rules require all Division 2 clubs to have a turf wicket.<\/p>\n

So Lethbridge is staying at Div 3 for now.<\/p>\n

But despite the mix of good and bad news, club president Damien Harwood is happy that a turf wicket is a major step closer.<\/p>\n

\"\"The turf wicket will be installed on the club\u2019s Oval 2. Photo: Darren McLean.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shire approval \u2013 which he described as \u201cone of the most sought-after documents you can get\u201d for sporting clubs\u2019 development \u2013 means the club can proceed with planning for the actual installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long process; it\u2019s taken a number of years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Harwood said the process of installing a turf wicket block could be completed in as little as four weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project will cost approximately $100,000,\u201d he said, adding that a major portion of that amount would be self-funded and external fundraising options would be explored.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a number of ideas, but the cricket season\u2019s finished so it\u2019s time to have a rest, come back with fresh minds in about a month and work on those exact strategies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ultimate goal would be to start construction in March next year and to have it ready for the following cricket season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pitch will be installed on Oval 2 instead of Oval 1, which cannot be widened further because of clubhouse buildings on either side, but Oval 2 itself has just received some upgrades to make it ready.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Golden Plains Shire has given its approval for the Lethbridge Cricket Club to install a turf wicket at its recreation reserve headquarters. Photo: Darren McLean.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The club has three men\u2019s, two women\u2019s and three junior teams competing in the GCA, and Harwood said it was growing quickly alongside the township.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we\u2019re going to have four men\u2019s teams next year, there\u2019s been that much interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a number of people showing great interest in joining us. Obviously the town\u2019s growing a bit as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven years ago, eight years ago, we were not in the best place; the club was declining.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as a group we\u2019ve turned it around and the club is growing every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shire spokesperson said the council was supportive of the turf wicket project going ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, as the project is still in its early planning stages, council will continue to work with the club as it seeks to determine and action all requirements related to turf installation and its ongoing management and maintenance,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Lethbridge Cricket Club has a new total to chase \u2013 and it\u2019s not on the scoreboard. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-672032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}