The next big thing in regional cricket has a name — the Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League.
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The looming venture into franchise cricket for the Northern Rivers Cricket region is beginning to take shape, with dates confirmed and details being announced this week.
GVBBL action will grace the local cricketing scene on January 12, 19 and February 2 for the qualifying rounds, with the final to be held under lights at Deakin Reserve on February 9.
All of these clashes are scheduled to be Sunday contests, maximising the opportunity for those not involved to get along and catch a glimpse of the fixtures.
As confirmed by The News in September, four franchises will vie for the inaugural GVBBL title, with the majority of players in each team being drawn from a draft pool.
A coach, captain and pair of marquee stars will be signed ahead of the draft to form the nucleus of the quartet of squads, with the initial participants announced on the competition's Facebook page this week.
Kyabram legend Paul Newman has taken charge of an outfit, signing brother David up as captain and recruiting Victorian Premier Cricket guns Tom Donnell and James Nanopoulos.
Nanopoulos’ signing comes just days after he rattled through Geelong in the Men's Premier Firsts with outstanding figures of 7-43, and as a spearhead in Newman's franchise will strike fear into opposition batsmen — no matter their capabilities.
“It's a good start,” Newman said of his signings.
“They're not just district cricketers, they're exceptional district cricketers.”
In terms of the competition as a whole, Newman was looking forward to stepping into the unknown to a degree — especially with the December 1 draft.
“I think it's a pretty good concept,” he said.
“It (the draft) is obviously something a bit different, but we'll work our way through the list of players once we get it and see what we come up with.
“You'll obviously have some idea about most of the players, but a few might sneak under the radar.
“It sounds like a really good concept and hopefully we can get some decent players on board playing some decent cricket and draw a bit of a crowd to the games.”
Also on board for the GVBBL is major sponsor Crane Aid.
The Dandenong-based crane service and repair company — with branches in regional centres like Albury-Wodonga and Gippsland — will head up what is likely to be a long list of sponsors as excitement surrounding the GVBBL builds to a crescendo.
Nominations are now open for players to put their hat in the ring for the draft, with the link available on the competition's Facebook page.
More announcements will follow in the lead-up to the draft, including details surrounding the GVBBL edition of Shepp News Fantasy Sports.
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