Cricket facilities at Doug Dean Reserve, Delacombe get a funding boost

PHOTO: At Doug Dean Reserve, Delacombe cricket nets.

Back, from left, City of Ballarat Cr Ben Taylor, Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison MP, VRI Delacombe Cricket Club Junior Coordinator Danyel Attard. Front, from left: VRI Delacombe CC players Zane Attard and Logan Attard.

A project to support players from all ages and backgrounds to get into cricket in a key Ballarat growth area has had a boost from the Victorian Government.

The project to construct a new outdoor cricket training facility at the Doug Dean Reserve, Delacombe has received $100,000 from the Victorian Government’s 2020-21 Community Cricket Program.

The $363,506 City of Ballarat project will see the construction of four cricket training bays, made up of three new club cricket nets with retractable netting and pitches, and one community accessible net and pitch.

The Doug Dean Reserve is the home of the VRI Delacombe Cricket Club, which has 82 registered players across three senior and three junior sides.

The project will replace two existing cricket nets which no longer meet Cricket Victoria standards, along with two extra nets.

City of Ballarat Councillor Ben Taylor said the upgrades and additional nets will help support the expansion of cricket programs at the reserve and allow more people from all backgrounds to take part in cricket.

“Our community sports clubs need good facilities for training and play to attract and retain players and volunteers, particularly in an area that is fast growing like Delacombe and neighbouring suburbs in Ballarat west,” Cr Taylor said

Cr Taylor said the project would support the club’s efforts to attract more senior and junior female players, in line with the City of Ballarat’s Active Women and Girls Strategy

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison said:

“The Victorian Government is proud to support this fantastic project. These facilities will support VRI Delacombe CC and the Ballarat Cricket Association to get more people, and especially more local juniors to play cricket, keep active and get all the social benefits that come from participation in community sport.”

Construction on the project is expected to start at the end of the 2021/22 cricket season. 

The $13.5 million Community Cricket Program is a state-wide competitive Victorian Government investment program that provides a range of grant opportunities across two funding streams.