Instead, along with ensuring organisations like Cricket Shepparton, Goulburn Murray Cricket and Murray Valley Cricket Association can get something as close as possible to a normal season up and running, Cricket Victoria will aim to create localised representative opportunities.
“We’d like to thank our affiliates for their proactivity and understanding as we’ve confronted the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic,” Cricket Victoria chief executive Andrew Ingleton said.
“Unfortunately circumstances won’t allow the Youth Premier League to take place this season, but we look forward to continuing to work closely with leagues to deliver representative opportunities where we can, while also providing access to our coaching and talent specialists.”
Newly-appointed Barooga Cricket Club captain — and Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League star — Matt Jaensch is disappointed to see a decrease in representative opportunities for junior cricketers across the region, but forecasts many of the talented youngsters will quickly climb their own club ranks.
“I think it's disappointing that the pathway can't go ahead this summer,” Jaensch said.
“But the kids will just have to stick with their club cricket and try to play at the highest level they can.
“With no imports likely to be coming to the region it really should give some great opportunities to kids on the fringes of A or B-grade cricket to play senior cricket and really test themselves.”
Jaensch said the pathways were not always about the top-end talent though, especially in the youngest age groups.
“I know when I was growing up, playing senior cricket was something you really strived towards,” Jaensch said.
“Last season in the (MVCA) grand final we had a 15-year-old play for us and bowl 10 overs and that was a huge experience for him.
“But it can be a big step up to senior cricket for a lot of juniors, so we need those pathways to come back as soon as they can to really help with the encouragement and progression of a lot of kids. It's a big thing to be picked in one of those squads.”
The YPL pathway system is set to be tweaked when it eventually returns in the 2021-22 summer of cricket.
“The Youth Premier League is a vital avenue for developing cricketing talent throughout the state and we’ll use this time to refine the competition to ensure it provides an even more valuable platform when it returns,” Cricket Victoria high performance manager Dean Russ said.