Sport
23 September, 2025
Avoca Cricket Club set for seniors return
In a massive boost for the local cricketing community, the Avoca Cricket Club will return to senior cricket in the upcoming Maryborough and District Cricket Association (MDCA) season.
While the club has remained involved in the MDCA in the under 13 competition, Avoca has been without a senior side since the 2022/23 campaign due to a lack of numbers.
Avoca is one of two additions to this season’s A reserve competition, which now consists of 10 teams after Beaufort entered two sides in 2025/26.
According to club president Cam Holland, the time is right for Avoca to once again compete at the senior level.
“I never had my doubts that we wouldn’t be able to come back. I was always confident in a way that we had the right mentality and right group of people around to drive it back,” he said.
“We had a premiership reunion out here in Avoca and it just ignited the fact that we really need to get this back. The community really needed a summer sports team.
“There was a great reaction within the community, a lot of positive things are being said around town.
“When you hear that buzz going around the community, it just keeps igniting that fire that we have got to keep pushing to make sure we get this up and going again.
“The outgoing president, Matt Drummond did a fantastic job as well as Bill Drummond throughout those years holding the club together. It’s a huge shout-out to them and a huge shout-out to the community as well for getting behind us and getting a cricket team back.”
It isn’t the only Avoca team that will make its return this season, as the club confirmed last week that they will field an under 16s team for the first time since the 2014/15 season in the Grampians Cricket Association.
Holland said the restoration of the under 16s to complement their under 13s and A reserve teams in the MDCA is crucial to the club’s future.
“It’s great to know that the kids have got somewhere to play so the next generation can come up and play senior cricket,” he said.
“That was probably our huge downfall, for that 10-year period we didn’t have under 16s and that’s what pretty much led us to losing our senior side.
“Hopefully, we can have our juniors step up and they can aspire to be a part of the senior side.”
Avoca has been a very successful force in the MDCA since joining in the 2017/18 season following the disbanding of the Pyrenees Cricket Association, winning back-to-back A reserve premierships in their first two seasons and runners-up in 2021/22.
While Holland would love to see senior success sooner rather than later, he said the upcoming season is all about rebuilding the foundations around the club.
“I think success in my eyes is that we are consistently fielding a team throughout the year and we have got a bunch of players out there who are having fun and building mateship,” he said.
“Whether we win, lose, whatever it may be, as long as we are enjoying it and we are getting the community involved, that’s what I see as a successful year.”