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Cricket Victoria's long wait for a home away from the MCG is finally over with the official opening of the renovated Junction Oval.

Following a two-year, $40 million redevelopment, the St Kilda venue will today host Sheffield Shield cricket for the first time almost in a decade when the Bushrangers host NSW Blues in the penultimate round of the JLT Sheffield Shield.

The Victorian Cricket and Community Centre features new headquarters for Cricket Victoria, high performance facilities, and new medical and rehabilitation areas for our elite cricket teams.

A key feature of the renovated facility is that the ground and complex can be used for cricket all-year round, meaning cricket and AFL are unlikely to clash at the MCG in the future.

The upgrade is also being seen as important as a venue for international fixtures with it already being already locked in group games for the women’s ICC World T20, when the tournament comes to Australia for the first time in 2020.

Opened today by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and representatives from Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria, Junction Oval will host Premier Cricket Club, St Kilda, Sheffield Shield matches for the Bushrangers, and matches for the Victorian women’s team the VicSpirit.

Commenting on the upgraded facility, Cricket Victoria Chief Executive stated Tony Dodemaide “our new venue is for everyone. It will service our elite players, our fans and the community at-large.

“We are dedicated to being a sport for all and this new building will help us deliver on that goal.”

Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland added “this centre is so much more than a cricket ground. It is a state-of-the-art cricket facility without peer.

“We can only wish that every state and territory had a facility like this.”

The Junction Oval hadn’t hosted a first-class game since the 2009 Shield final , and had been forced to 'host' Shield matches, including last year's final, in Alice Springs in recent years due to the MCG being unavailable due to the start of the AFL season and the pre-renovation Junction Oval being deemed unfit for first-class cricket.

Funding for the development saw the Victorian Government proudly deliver $25 million towards the $40 million facility, with Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria pitching in the rest.

Images courtesy of Cricket Victoria.

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