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CA really needs to investigate what's going on at club level in Australian cricket. It seems our cricket talent is really drying up and something needs to be done to keep the sport developing or it will lose support..
Well said Light, I remember the days when clubs like Norths and Gold Coast had many regular Shield players representing them at club level. The equivalent to the Premier Grade Cricket competition then would be the current Second XI comp (I think it's called the Futures' League or something). I'd say there is still some high quality players but the spread and consistency of talent is clearly lacking.
In this regard they (QLD Cricket/Cricket Australia) could really take a look at the strength of the Premier Grade rugby competition and how they are able to play their top players (Reds players) fairly regularly.
I could rant further about the youth programs, particularly the contrast between the respective QLD GPS competitions, but this probably isn't the thread to do so. However I will say, QLD cricket needs to embrace the GPS competition like its rugby counterpart does, providing a clear pathway through GPS to State and National youth representation. For the best young players really were a part of the GPS competition in Queensland. Furthermore, these top players were spread throughout the schools for the most part, creating a tight contested season. Unfortunately, the best players were selected to participate in just one three day match against the QLD 16's (to my knowledge) which was obviously not leading to higher honours.