Speculation and opinions have been rife all week about this city as to why Napoleons-Sebastopol did not wave the white flag at stumps on day two in the Ballarat Cricket Association club firsts final.

Naps-Sebas is four wickets down and needs 131 runs to level Brown Hill, which can still bat again in the two days left for the city's marquee final at Eastern Oval.

Some Ballarat armchair experts are tipping Naps will give up before a ball is bowled.

Those less sportsmanlike have even suggested Naps should throw ice on the pitch overnight so Brown Hill may just take the title and end Naps' perceived pain.

Pride.

Naps-Sebas should play on in the name of pride.

Cricket truly is a funny game.

There are few, if any, matches where teams have a week between stanzas to plot their next move.

This is different to sports, like basketball, that feature a finals series because Ballarat cricket has paused mid-match.

Cricket culture and tradition makes it acceptable to form a gentlemanly agreement on calling the game early. This is a sport where it is ok to give up.

This does not mean they should.

The magic about sport - all sport and any level sport - is that anything can happen.

Just like being 60 points down at three-quarter-time in a football final, when the odds are heavily stacked against your team, you play on for pride and the small chance momentum could change in your favour.

Brown Hill is in a powerful position.

The Bulls held a 149-run lead after the first innings, then quick Matt McMahon unleashed his reign of destruction that helped pin Naps 4-18 by stumps.

Naps have had a week to decide how they want to finish this.

Winning is pretty much out of the question.

Few would blame Naps if they enacted the mercy rule now.

But calling play over means Naps players have zero chance to redeem themselves in the situation and go out fighting.

Calling play over would stop any possibility a Naps batsman could defy the Bulls' formidable bowling attack and stick around to make a few runs. At least show they want to finish with pride.

Naps have played all right in the final. Their good bowling was perhaps overshadowed by costly dropped catches and, of course, McMahon's havoc late on day two.

Interestingly, Naps conceded defeat in the 2012 final but they were in an awful lot worse position that they are now.

Opponent Wendouree had built a 509-run buffer and, spoilt for batting time, still had five wickets in hand when Naps' then-playing coach Dan Davies (now coach with Brown Hill), said no more a day early.

The Red Flags have surrendered a grand final, too.

Golden Point claimed the 2002 premiership at 2-141 and with a 237-run lead in the second innings when the Red Caps packed up to go home.

Steve Smith's declaration that ended the Boxing Day Test four overs early, with four Indian wickets to get, this summer, was polarising.

Australian sporting fans take pride in our heroes fighting to the very end.

Smith decided the game was going no-where despite the fact that six years earlier, Michael Clarke took three wickets in one over to snatch a shock victory in the very dying stages of day five against India.

You may argue that Naps playing on would delay the inevitable but what about that sense of unfinished business? What about lingering what-if regrets?

At the very least, Naps should try to force Brown Hill to take up the bat again, even if not for much, just to put a twist in the Bulls' plans.

Reaching a final alone is a massive achievement. As disappointing as it might be to be down and heavily overpowered, make the most of properly finishing what you started.