Not even the rain will prevent the Goulburn District Cricket Association's MG Cup T20 tournament from going ahead.
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All of the stops have been pulled out to ensure that this weekend's inaugural edition of the competition will be as big and as bold as possible.
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The three-day knockout tournament will feature 12 teams and run from Friday, January 14, to Sunday, January 16. A range of local businesses have thrown their support behind the competition, along with the Goulburn Mulwaree Council, which has assisted with preparation of the Seiffert and Prell Oval pitches. GDCA president Shane Munroe said he has been thrilled with the support shown by the community.
"It has surprised me, I didn't know how it would be accepted," Munroe said.
"I hoped people would jump on board, but I've had people asking where it will go from here. Hopefully it'll get even bigger and better as we go along."
So far in the 2021/22 season, local players have been forced to stay at home on Saturdays and watch as rain pours across local sporting fields.
With five of eight local rounds washed out so far, and more rain forecast to fall later this week, the possibility of wet weather is something for which the GDCA has had to prepare. However, the association is confident it will get a result, even if it needs to reschedule the competition.
"We'll just have to squeeze it in as tight as we can if we get it started this weekend," Munroe said.
"If not, it will go ahead, just on another weekend. I had those conversations with everyone involved yesterday, and they're just as excited about it as we are. They're very keen for it to go ahead."
The GDCA had its final planning meeting on Tuesday night, during which it ensured that all participating teams understood the seedings and the structure of the tournament.
During the course of the meeting and in the day since, it has become clear to Munroe just how eager the teams are to take part in the new-look competition.
"They're very excited," he said.
"I'm pretty happy with the way that everyone's fallen in and gotten behind it. All the messages that I've received since last night, they're all pretty pumped for it. It's going to be an exciting weekend."
The tournament will feature $1,500 in prize money, along with entertainment from local DJ, Amy James, and a raffle with over $1,000 worth of prizes as well.
The first match of the competition will take place on Friday night as Seiffert Oval, between the Knight Riders and Hibo Green from 7pm.
The full draw can be found here.
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