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Cricket NT's Joel Morrison is hopeful of getting a One Day International match to Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Now Darwin is in contention to host Australia's One Day
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  Speaker 1: International match against Zimbabwe in August, but the requirement for
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  Speaker 1: a drop in wicket was a pretty expensive consideration, according
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  Speaker 1: to nt Cricket. Now joining me in the studio right
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  Speaker 1: now is Joel Morrison, NTA Cricket Chief Executive. Good morning
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  Speaker 1: to you, Joel.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 3: Lovely to have you in the studio. Mate.
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  Speaker 1: Where is this campaign at to bring this match to Darwit?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's now a waiting game.
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  Speaker 4: So we've been doing a lot of work over the
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  Speaker 4: last six months with Cricket Australia to explore what a
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  Speaker 4: One Day International in Darwin could look like and notionally,
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  Speaker 4: because we haven't played international cricket in Darwin for fourteen years,
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  Speaker 4: playing the first match was always going to be expensive
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  Speaker 4: and getting too stadium cricket ready again is the key
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  Speaker 4: to that because that's where we'd be playing the game.
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  Speaker 4: And when we're talking about games in the top end,
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  Speaker 4: we're always in competition with Finals Queensland and the biggest
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  Speaker 4: challenge that we have compared to those venues is that
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  Speaker 4: they have cricket wickets that already exist within their stadiums.
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  Speaker 4: Versus we have a need to have a dropping wicket
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  Speaker 4: and put it into Taoyo. So what that means if
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  Speaker 4: I simplify it is stadiums in Queensland have a patch
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  Speaker 4: of clay in the ground which you need to roll
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  Speaker 4: out cricket wickets, which we don't at Taiyo Stadium.
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  Speaker 2: It's just all natural turf.
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  Speaker 4: But we have built a patch of clay in a
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  Speaker 4: metal tray that we pick up, take across the road
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  Speaker 4: and put into the ground so that we can facilitate
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  Speaker 4: cricket at Teyo Stadium. And that's just an expensive exercise.
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  Speaker 4: So when we're looking at one match in isolation, that's
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  Speaker 4: where the challenge comes in.
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  Speaker 3: And so how expensive are we talking here?
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  Speaker 2: Are you talking near a couple hundred thousand dollars for.
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  Speaker 4: That alone, because the way that dropping wicket is built
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  Speaker 4: requires a special piece of machinery to pick it up
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  Speaker 4: and transport it across the road, or it requires us
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  Speaker 4: to custom build a particular transporterer here in the Northern Territory. Now,
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  Speaker 4: if you have these games all the time, you get
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  Speaker 4: cost efficiencies, right, But because this is the first one
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  Speaker 4: in fourteen years, that's the challenge. So the good news
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  Speaker 4: is we're having these conversations off the work that we've
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  Speaker 4: done with Cricket three and we've got elite cricketers here
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  Speaker 4: in Darwin every year and now for a couple of
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  Speaker 4: months we've got the expertise that we need here to
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  Speaker 4: build over time. So Cricket Australia are looking to bring
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  Speaker 4: content to the Northern Territory into the top ends.
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  Speaker 2: It may well be that we're challenged.
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  Speaker 4: In this current discussion just because of that requirement around
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  Speaker 4: dropping wicket, but it's great news that we're seriously in
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  Speaker 4: contention for these games again.
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  Speaker 1: Well absolutely, and I think that what it does as
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  Speaker 1: well for tourism and you know for the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: in terms of putting us on the map with cricket,
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  Speaker 1: it would surely be a great thing.
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely, and it's all part of the business case we've
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  Speaker 4: put forward to Cricket Australia, which is we have a
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  Speaker 4: unique opportunity in Australia where we can operate our cricket
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  Speaker 4: business and industry twelve months of the year south in summer,
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  Speaker 4: north in winter, which is a competitive beans for our sport.
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  Speaker 4: Because we play internationally with the Australian Men's and women's
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  Speaker 4: teams and we have to play year round, so if
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  Speaker 4: we can do that domestically and prepare our players, but
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  Speaker 4: also to help the summer scheduling that Cricket Australia has
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  Speaker 4: challenges with down South when you're talking about the Big
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  Speaker 4: Bash League, Women's Beeg BACHHL League in national cricket. If
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  Speaker 4: you can bring some of the content forward and play
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  Speaker 4: it north to then make it easier over summer down South,
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  Speaker 4: then that helps grow the business as well.
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  Speaker 1: And is it a situation here where if we do
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  Speaker 1: it once, if we prove that we can do it
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  Speaker 1: really well that one time, and I know it could
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  Speaker 1: be an expensive exercise, but is there a way that
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  Speaker 1: then you know, we could potentially see this happen more
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  Speaker 1: often and that expense minimized to some degree.
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  Speaker 4: Yes, it's the piece of the jigsaw puzzle that then
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  Speaker 4: goes into the mix to say, right, well, we've now
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  Speaker 4: had the case study of the match going ahead, we
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  Speaker 4: know what it looks like, we've got the expertise in
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  Speaker 4: the skill set.
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  Speaker 2: Now to deliver that. So let's look at whatever else
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  Speaker 2: that might look like in the future.
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  Speaker 4: So whether that's international matches or domestic matches for us. Really,
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  Speaker 4: we're just trying to bring more elite level cricket here
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  Speaker 4: and expose our young kids to a pathway to explore
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  Speaker 4: their dreams. Ultimately, so we're not too fussed when we
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  Speaker 4: say we want a particular type of match coming to
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  Speaker 4: the Northern Territory. We just want high level cricket here
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  Speaker 4: to complement what we're building ourselves on the ground.
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  Speaker 1: And I guess while that is a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: hurdle for us here in the Northern Territory, are there
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  Speaker 1: other factors that are at play that make us more
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  Speaker 1: appealing than the likes of North Queensland, who are obviously up.
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  Speaker 4: Against Absolutely Ultimately it comes down to us having a
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  Speaker 4: thriving winter cricket ecosystem. With our Darwin Club Cricket competition,
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  Speaker 4: we now have Cricket three six five, which puts an
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  Speaker 4: elite competition above the Darwin Club Cricket, so we can
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  Speaker 4: work hand in hand with the competition so that we
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  Speaker 4: have that cricket ecosystem thriving during the winter months. So
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  Speaker 4: that's what will make these opportunities much more feasible moving forward.
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  Speaker 4: We really started to build that last year with the
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  Speaker 4: year one of Cricket three six five, we've built it.
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  Speaker 4: They are starting to come and we think they will
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  Speaker 4: come in larger numbers as we go forward over time.
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  Speaker 3: Joel, when are we going to know if this is
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  Speaker 3: going to happen or not.
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  Speaker 4: We'll need an answer this month, so it should be
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  Speaker 4: sooner rather than later. And now it's ultimately in the
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  Speaker 4: hands of Cricket Australia to make the decision. We've certainly
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  Speaker 4: put our best foot forward and we've showcased what we
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  Speaker 4: can do and now we just hope the cards fall
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  Speaker 4: our way.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, hopefully, And it's not the only thing going on
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  Speaker 1: at the moment with NT Cricket. I know that you
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  Speaker 1: guys are seeking player nominations for the inaugural under nineteen
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  Speaker 1: women's Junior Strike Lake.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Cricket's back.
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  Speaker 4: We had local cricket back on the weekend with a
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  Speaker 4: T twenty competition, and then we have all grades starting
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  Speaker 4: after RESTERA plus. As you mentioned, we have junior programs
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  Speaker 4: during the middle of the year to help develop our
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  Speaker 4: young girls and boys, and then we've got Cricket three
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  Speaker 4: six five coming back this year from June three to
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  Speaker 4: August as well.
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  Speaker 2: So it's all starting the heat up and it's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of fun.
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  Speaker 3: Very busy. You're busy busy at Cricket NT.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, that's just the way we like it.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, good stuff well, NT Cricket Chief Executive Joel Morrison.
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  Speaker 1: It's always good to catch up with you. Keep us
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  Speaker 1: up to date with how we go with this. With
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  Speaker 1: this international match as well, I'll be very interested to
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  Speaker 1: see whether we do win it in the end.
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  Speaker 2: Hopefully, hopefully fingers crossed.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks Katie, good stuff, Good on you, Joel, you are
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  Speaker 1: listening to mix one O four point nine is three sixty.
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  Speaker 1: If you do want to get in contact with us, well,
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  Speaker 1: you most certainly can send us a message zero four
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  Speaker 1: double nine seven double one three six zero.
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  Speaker 3: Now, just on that note, with the with the NT.
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  Speaker 1: Cricket seeking those player nominations for the inaugural undon nineteen
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  Speaker 1: Women's Junior Strike League, my understanding is that players can
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  Speaker 1: nominate as well. They can nominate at Ntcricket dot com
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  Speaker 1: dot au and you've got until four pm on April
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  Speaker 1: nineteen