CORONET City president Troy McCarthy has spoken out about the club’s long-term battles in the Ballarat Cricket Association.
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And he believes securing a permanent home is vital in the bid to lift the club out of the region’s cricket doldrums.
City has had a number of bases over its 18-year history, but currently trains at Prince of Wales Park and plays home games at Ballarat High School.
McCarthy said his number one goal this season was to secure a future home for the club in either Lucas or Victoria Park.
“My focus this year is to give members at least a direction,” he said.
“You can’t have success without the base and that’s the bottom line.
“Having a home is an identity and it is a permanent identity.”
McCarthy said the club had managed to reach just one senior finals series in the past 18 years and felt as if it was falling further behind the top teams despite a flourishing membership base.
City has already copped two big defeats in first grade competition in 2015-16.
This year, McCarthy was behind a push to see the club step aside from the firsts division and enter its best team in the seconds. However, this was voted against by club members at a majority of 60 per cent – a decision he now fully supports.
“If we dropped firsts to seconds right now, I would like to think we would play finals cricket,” McCarthy said.
“We have got a plan in place. We believe we’ve got 13 guys that could play A-grade firsts in about three years and we think we’ve got the basis there.
“The problem for me is: can they hang in there three years if we are copping beltings every week?”
McCarthy has also called on the BCA to develop equalisation measures to help struggling clubs compete with powerhouses.
He said Wendouree – through the benefits of a large junior base – and Mt Clear and Brown Hill – through the help of recruiting – had won the past seven A-grade premierships.
“I think (equalisation) is vital. It’s done in pretty much every sport,” he said.