Victoria's shock snap lockdown sent the Horsham Cricket Association into late-night talks, as board members raced to address a scheduling nightmare lumped on them by the sudden halt to community sport.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The association was forced to postpone its Twenty20 grand finals scheduled for Sunday, and decipher how it would host three games of cricket at City Oval - which was fully-booked for the next month.
As a result, the association's representative clash against the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association, due to be played on Sunday, February 21, has been cancelled.
The Twenty20 grand finals of HCA's three senior grades will take its place, should COVID-19 restrictions allow.
"Playing against different towns and other things is an obvious risk, given the current climate" HCA president Chris Hopper told the Mail-Times.
"So, we're just going to focus on our own competition.
"We've got room to slot the (grand finals) in on the Sunday. We just need this short lockdown to be short."
Had the Warrnambool match gone ahead, the earliest the Twenty20 grand finals could have been played was early March.
The Western Waves under-21 team and a Wimmera girl's representative side are slated to play at City Oval in the coming weeks.
MORE CRICKET NEWS:
Hopper said re-scheduling would have been too difficult with the associations regular season winding down.
"We're getting tight to our dates now the junior finals. It's disappointing (having to cancel) but it's out of control unfortunately," he said.
"It is was it is. We need to have a good week this week and effectively nothing will be lost."
Homers and Jung Tigers will contest the A Grade Twenty20 grand final, while Laharum and Lubeck-Murtoa compete for honours in B Grade. Quantong and Colts will meet in C Grade.
The association's one-day games on Saturday were abandoned, alongside a host of other sports, leaving three rounds to go before finals.
Did you know you can receive updates straight to your inbox? To make sure you're up-to-date with news from across the region, sign up below.