Off-season council ground works have robbed a suburban cricket team of a chance to host a grand final and earn up to $2000 in bar takings.
Bayswater Postels Cricket Club said it had been trying to tell the City of Bayswater for weeks that it was likely to be in the fourth-grade men’s final at Upper Hillcrest Reserve this Saturday.
But council contractors started preparing the ground for the football season by renovating the outfield on Monday and covering the pitch, forcing the top-of-the-table Postels to find another synthetic turf wicket for the Perth Swan Cricket Association final against Ascot.
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READ NOWClub president John Boyd said Postels had been trying to book Upper Hillcrest with the city for “quite some time”, particularly when they were five games ahead of their nearest rivals, but were told the ground could not be booked until the end of the home and away season.
“They allowed us to use it last week (in the club’s finals win over Forrestfield) but not this week for the grand final,” he said.
“Our members and families are extremely disappointed.
“We appreciate we play at a great venue for community cricket and are very grateful.
“But we’re very upset we can’t play our final there especially when our clubrooms are there with our licensed bar.”
Mr Boyd said the council helped the club find Emberson Reserve in Morley - “the only one they had left” – to play the final.
He had been talking to Bayswater’s mayor and CEO, and been in discussions about getting a bar licence at Emberson and potential compensation on any financial loss.
“They have actually tried to come to the party and make a bad situation as good as it could be,” Mr Boyd said.
The president said the nearby turf-wicket ground at Hillcrest, which would host the WACA district cricket final this weekend, had not been touched.
“That’s what upset us the most, they couldn’t wait one more week,” he said.
“We got stooged by the council – that’s how it feels.”
City of Bayswater acting chief executive Luke Botica said the city considered the needs of all users of its reserves and did “essential ground maintenance” between sporting seasons.
“The Bayswater Postels Cricket Club secured a booking for the cricket season from September 30 to March 17,” he said in an emailed response to PerthNow.
“As the city is now preparing for the upcoming football season by laying turf over the existing synthetic cricket wicket, we have arranged for Emberson Reserve in Morley to be made available for the club’s grand final.”