Jack Brabham wickets on hold for start of Orange cricket season in 2023/24

Jack Brabham 1 and 2 (located on the Huntley Road side) were out of action towards the back-end of the 2022/23 season due to drainage works as part of the ongoing Orange Sports Precinct construction.

Now it has been confirmed those same pitches won't be ready for the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign.

An Orange City Council spokesman said they were making "steady progress" on constructing the eight new sports fields alongside Jack Brabham Park.

"While that work continues, there will be some impact for the clubs using the nearby Brabham sports fields," the spokesman added.

"Council is working with the Orange District Cricket Association, Orange District Junior Cricket Association and Orange District Football Association to deliver the sports grounds they'll need for the upcoming summer season."

Although details about locations for games are still being worked on, the council assured athletes the number of grounds available for the summer sports season would "continue to match the needs of the clubs for games."

"Council will aim to have Sir Jack Brabham Park 1 and 2 cricket grounds (one to four football fields) available for play later in the season," the spokesman added.

While no replacement wickets have been confirmed, the Central Western Daily has been made aware that work on the turf pitch on Glenroi Oval has been ongoing, possibly in preparation for the upcoming season.

The wicket at Jack Brabham 4 will be available to use from the start of the season, along with Wade Park, Riawena Oval, Country Club Oval and the turf pitches at Kinross Wolaroi School.

The ODCA revealed there would be just five second grade teams - down from seven in 2022/23 - during the upcoming campaign.

When the Bathurst and Orange Inter District Cricket competition draw is taken into account, it means there should be just three weeks throughout the season where second grade games may have to be played on synthetic, dependent on the schedule and availability of Kinross' grounds which are not council operated.

Those dates include November 25, December 2 and December 16 where variations of Wade Park and Riawena are out of action due to representative games.

For the first grade competition, this means the two-day match between CYMS and Bathurst City in round five could be moved to Jack Brabham 4, if Jack Brabham 2 was still not ready. The same would go for the round seven game between Orange City and Bathurst City.

"An important factor is that first grade cricket is the only competition that must play on turf wickets so even if there were insufficient turf wickets, the lower grade competitions can still proceed on our synthetic wicket grounds - this is what occurs when turf wickets are washed out," the council spokesman added.

In terms of summer football, due to the drainage works, there has been less fields available for the sport this past winter.

"The fields that were used now need more time for the turf to recover and maintenance," the spokesman said.

"Council staff are discussing options with Orange Football about their summer competition and will provide an alternative venue for them to use."

Although no draw has been released yet, there will be six third grade cricket teams and five Centenary Cup sides to go along with the five in second grade.

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