Riverina cricket legend Warren Smith OAM has slammed changes to the time-honoured O'Farrell Cup that has turned this year's competition into 'a farce'.
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Smith believes some of Riverina's greatest cricketers would be 'turning in their graves' at what has happened with the O'Farrell Cup this season.
Only four associations will compete for the O'Farrell Cup in 2019-20 after organisers changed the format to round robin this season.
The move was made after a record amount of forfeits last season.
But the change has prompted an outcry from across the region, most notably from Murrumbidgee and South West Slopes, causing Smith to speak out.
The high-profile Wagga-based coach believes this year's O'Farrell Cup format has degraded the pinnacle of Riverina cricket.
"The Derek Rogers', Ken Kenneallys, the greatest player to ever play the game in Wagga Stan Sly, Max Rudd, Billy McCaig, John Stuckings, Bob Henry, all these people are dead now, they would turn over on their grave with what they're doing," Smith said.
"It was never meant to be a round robin thing. It's a challenge. It's like the old Maher Cup, sitting up in Tumut.
"You don't degrade the greatest thing that's ever been."
This season's round robin format is the first time in the competition's history, that started in 1925, that a challenge system has not been used.
Smith would prefer to see the O'Farrell Cup not played for than to ruin it in the current format.
"Put the O'Farrell Cup away for two years, don't play it, because you're only degrading it," he said.
"It's similar to the Sheffield Shield when it became the Pura Milk Cup. O'Farrell Cup was like a Sheffield Shield. It was the ultimate. Back in the day there would be 18, 19 challenges.
"I think they should revamp the Hedditch Cup and let them play for that."
Griffith and Leeton, who have both withdrawn from the O'Farrell Cup in it's new format, will this weekend play-off for the Hedditch Cup.
Smith would prefer to see the Hedditch Cup take centre stage for a year or two, then look at re-introducing the O'Farrell Cup in it's rightful format.
Smith believes Albury's return to the O'Farrell Cup was part of it's undoing. He believes Cricket Albury-Wodonga is 'too strong' and should pursue other avenues of representative cricket.
Smith says he has spoken to a number of smaller associations that would get behind the O'Farrell Cup again in it's original format.
"People are not game to say anything but it's the tradition of this wonderful, wonderful trophy," he said.
"It's known all over Australia.
"There's been a lot of players, Col Blackman, Lawson, Thornley, McDonald, Slater that have played O'Farrell Cup. All these blokes were such good players and the people that are running it now, they don't know the history of it. You've got to know the history of it."
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