Echuca will be seeking a fifth straight Goulburn Murray Cricket crown in 2025-26. Photo: Matthew Kappos.
A new Goulburn Murray Cricket season is just around the corner, and for the fourth year in a row, Echuca is preparing to defend the McMahon Shield A-grade men’s title.
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Rochester was the grand final victim for 2024-25, Echuca claiming the championship by 101 runs.
Those two sides will be joined by the same seven A-grade outfits as last year, as Moama, Kyabram Fire Brigade, Echuca South, Bamawm-Lockington United, Leitchville-Gunbower, Tongala and Nondies-Cohuna all seek to make this their year.
The competition format will look a little different this season, with game length in the one-day format increased to 50 overs (from 45) and two-day games removed from the schedule.
Consequently, players won’t have to block out full weekends for the finals series, as the semi-finals and final will move from a Saturday/Sunday affair to a one-day Saturday event.
Teams will play each opponent twice in an 18-round season, including byes.
GMC operations manager James Stokes says the league is in a good position for growth over the next few years.
“It gets to a point where (promising young players) want to play a higher grade and if you’re only offering B-grade, push comes to shove where you’re probably going to have to go into A-grade to get these kids an opportunity,” he said.
“We’re hoping that we can help (clubs) grow to the point where we may end up with a 10- or 11-team A-grade competition.
“The GMC executive made a decision that we need to prosper the clubs that we have in place, do everything we can to strengthen them, make them stronger, make them more competitive from within, and do whatever we have to do to make that happen.
“We think we can grow that from the inside and if we ended up with 12 A-grade sides over the next three to five years, I think that’d be pretty healthy for our region.”
The A-grade competition was at 10 teams for one season after Tongala rejoined for 2023-24, but Cooma removed its A-grade presence for 2024-25 to return the league to nine sides.
Moama will be one of the sides chasing the title in a new-look seven-team GMCW. Photo: Rechelle Zammit.
There has also been a shakeup in the women’s league, after Cricket Shepparton elected to withdraw its four traditional teams from the combined league.
The 2023-24 premier, Echuca, finished third last season but has now seen all three other members of 2024-25 top four leave the competition.
The ‘GMCW’ competition will continue with the remaining seven teams, also including Moama Rochester, Cooma, Kyabram and Bamawm-Lockington United, and Murray Valley Cricket Association sides Nathalia and Katamatite.
Both leagues, along with grades B-D, will get under way in October.
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