By Luke Voogt
A cricket club bursting at the seams with juniors due to population growth in Geelong’s south has received funding for new practice nets.
South Barwon Cricket Club’s junior numbers had grown dramatically over the past five years, according to president Simon Breuer.
“With the growth in Warrarily and Armstrong Creek, our junior numbers have gone through the roof,” he said.
“All [age] levels have got at least two sides.”
Even using nets five days a week at the club’s home ground in Belmont, junior and senior training sessions were getting crowded, Mr Breuer said.
“There’s not effort wickets for everyone.”
The nets are located next to one of the club’s seven ovals, which had “certainly have been chewed up” by bowlers’ run ups during training, Mr Breuer said.
The club recently received $100,000 from state government, on top of $250,000 from council to rebuild the nets away from the ground.
The funding will also allow the club to increase its hard-wicket and turf nets for its growing numbers, according to Mr Breuer.
The project to relocate and rebuild the now 20-year-old nets will begin next April following the 2021-22 cricket season, to allow the growth of turf wickets.
“These are going to be there for 20 years again, so want to get this stuff right,” Mr Breuer said.
“It will bring us into the 21st Century. It will make the nets safer for our guys and the public to have hit.”
