BBL games in Orange might be closer than you think

On Tuesday, the organisation revealed its plan to help grow the game between 2023 and 2027. In this document it was revealed that one of the plans was to bring more top-level cricket games to regional areas.

"Cricket NSW is committed to supporting these communities by providing much needed economic uplift and tourism," it read.

"Since 2020, BBL games have been played in Coffs Harbour and this year a BBL fixture (has been) played in Albury. With a raft of cricket content available...we feel we can support these communities by scheduling content within the regions."

In essence, the plan is to schedule more BBL, WBBL Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup, WNCL, State Youth Championships and grade cricket carnivals in regional communities.

The Albury match which was mentioned took place on New Year's Eve between the Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder. With a capacity crowd of more than 10,000 people and a wicket praised by the professionals, the BBL game was hailed as a success.

"On behalf of CAW I'd like to thank Cricket Australia, Cricket NSW and the BBL to actually have the confidence to bring the game to Albury-Wodonga," Cricket Albury-Wodonga president Michael Erdeljac told the Daily Advertiser after the match.

"I think they got about 6,000 to a game in Canberra and 10,000 to a game in Albury-Wodonga - it just proves that if they're willing to show a bit of faith in the country, the country will show a bit of faith in them."

So what does this have to do with Orange? Well, the city is already due to host two WNCL games in February between the NSW Breakers and ACT Meteors. With this commitment to grow the game even further in regional areas, these clashes at Wade Park may very well be a trial to see if Orange could handle WBBL or even BBL games.

While a full report surrounding the economic benefit of scheduling cricket in regional NSW and the costs associated won't be completed until February, there has already been an indication that Orange is on Cricket NSW's radar.

Within the 30-page document were 170 community projects currently seeking investment by political parties ahead of March's NSW State Election, which Cricket NSW will be throwing its weight behind to get them up and running.

Among them were two projects in Orange; the construction of the Regional Sporting Precinct and an upgrade to Jack Brabham Park's facilities.

In the case of the former, Orange City Council is looking to secure a further $10 million for the project, which is set to include a first class football stadium, a state level athletics facility and multipurpose sportsgrounds suitable for state level competition across numerous sports. The multi-purpose fields includes three turf wicket cricket grounds with two amenities buildings (change rooms, public toilets, canteen and storage) to service these grounds.

With much talk about Orange's would-be sports stadium bringing NRL or A-League games to town, could cricket be the true golden ticket?

Cricket NSW CEO, Lee Germon, said the release of the priorities document provided an opportunity for political parties to invest in cricket across the state ahead of the March election.

"This presents an opportunity to work with political parties and candidates and promote opportunities to invest in Australia's favourite sport," Germon said.

"Cricket is often the fabric that binds local communities, and when local cricket does well, local communities prosper.

"This document provides a footprint for the growth of cricket in NSW from a local community level right through to first-class cricket."

With Wade Park able to hold around 8000 patrons for any one event, it's certainly not out of the question for a BBL match to be played there, but what is certainly more likely is that the sport stadium would be the host for any major cricketing event.

With Cricket NSW signalling its intent to bring quality cricket to the regions and its desire to see the sporting stadium constructed sooner rather than later, consistent, high quality cricket games may well be on the cards for Orange in the near future.

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