Cricket fans in New South Wales are in for a treat this summer with Sydney being the host city for the Ryobi One Day Cup.
In a change to the domestic structure the Ryobi One-Day Cup will be played as a four-week tournament starting at the end of September and carrying on through the month of October. All other States will come to Sydney for the month-long event to be played at suburban grounds throughout the city.
In addition the tournament will be broadcast live on the Nine Network via HD Channel GEM.
The NSW Blues will start the season with the comfort of playing on grounds that they are familiar with. Sponsored by Transport for NSW and promoting the Plan B Drink Driving Campaign message for finding a safe way home after a night out, the team will go into the season looking for trophies.
Bankstown and North Sydney Oval will host 14 of the matches and Channel Nine will broadcast all matches at these venues. Hurstville, Blacktown International Sports Park and Drummoyne will play host to the remaining five fixtures.
The NSW Blues will open up the tournament with a match against the Tasmanian Tigers at Bankstown Oval on Sunday 29th September. They will also play matches at Hurstville, North Sydney and Drummoyne.
North Sydney will play host to the 2nd v 3rd play-off on Thursday 24th October, with the Final to be played on Sunday 27th October at a venue to be confirmed.
NSW BLUES RYOBI CUP FIXTURES
29 Sep 2013
NSW Blues v Tasmanian Tigers Bankstown Oval 12 00 AM AEST
07 Oct 2013
NSW Blues v Commonwealth Bank Victorian Bushrangers Bankstown Oval 12 00 AM AEST
13 Oct 2013
Warriors v NSW Blues – Hurstville 12 00 AM AEST
17 Oct 2013
NSW Blues v XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls North Sydney 12 00 AM AEST
20 Oct 2013
NSW Blues v Commonwealth Bank Victorian Bushrangers
North Sydney 12 00 AM AEST
22 Oct 2013
West End Redbacks v NSW Blues Drummoyne 12 00 AM AEST
With the potential of having all their Test players available for the first three rounds of the competition the NSW Blues will be looking forward to the Bupa Sheffield Shield after narrowly missing the final of the competition last season by a point.
BUPA SHEFFIELD SHIELD FIXTUES
30 Oct 2013 – 02 Nov 2013
NSW Blues v Tasmanian Tigers SCG 11 00 AM AEST
06 Nov 2013 – 09 Nov 2013
Commonwealth Bank Victorian Bushrangers v NSW Blues MCG 11 00 AM AEST
13 Nov 2013 – 16 Nov 2013
XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls v NSW Blues Gabba 10 00 AM AEST
22 Nov 2013 – 25 Nov 2013
NSW Blues v XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls SCG 11 00 AM AEST
29 Nov 2013 – 02 Dec 2013
Tasmanian Tigers v NSW Blues Blundstone Arena 11 00 AM AEST
08 Dec 2013 – 11 Dec 2013
NSW Blues v West End Redbacks SCG 11 00 AM AEST
12 Feb 2014 – 15 Feb 2014
NSW Blues v Commonwealth Bank Victorian Bushrangers SCG 11 00 AM AEST
20 Feb 2014 – 23 Feb 2014
Warriors v NSW Blues WACA 10 30 AM AEST
03 Mar 2014 – 06 Mar 2014 Day/Night
West End Redbacks v NSW Blues Adelaide Oval 12 00 AM AEST
11 Mar 2014 – 14 Mar 2014
NSW Blues v Warriors SCG 11 00 AM AEST
Cricket New South Wales Chief Executive Andrew Jones sees a sensational summer of cricket ahead: “Cricket fans throughout New South Wales are in for a treat this summer with the number of quality matches coming up. In addition to what will be a superb Ashes series, Sydney has the honour of hosting the first city-based Ryobi One-Day Cup tournament to take place. This means that fans will be able to watch the best players in the country over a period of a month on some of the most attractive suburban grounds anywhere in the world. It will also provide a great opportunity for mums and dads to take their children to a ground in their area to watch some exciting cricket. With our Test players potentially being available for the first three rounds of the competition, it means that we have a real opportunity to promote Australia’s favourite sport in the coming months.
