The delay to the start of the Ballarat Cricket Association season continues as Friday’s consistent rain forced the BCA to call off all junior and senior cricket over the weekend.
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The concerning forecast proved exactly that which left the BCA no choice but to cancel what would of been the first day of all round 2 matches in the first grade.
BCA operations officer Greg Wakeling was again left frustrated but was confident in the knowledge that it was the right decision moving forward.
Any temptation to push the issue was quickly dismissed given the heavy rainfall on Friday with the BCA wary of not causing any long-term damage to its grounds despite the frustration on the eve of what will be the third week in a row without play.
“We just can’t get on,” Wakeling said.
“Since it started raining and seeing what was on the radar, it was never really on the cards.
“We were hopeful, but we’ve had 10mm of rain already (as of 2pm, Friday) and that’s enough (to call it off).
“With the weather forecast for the weekend being cold and more showers on the horizon, there’s no chance we’ll get on.”
Wakeling said the poor weather had provided ground staff with no opportunity to get its machinery onto the grounds in order to prepare them.
He assured clubs that the grounds were in good condition it was just a matter of getting a stretch of decent weather in order for them to recover.
“We’ve been lucky at this point, the people maintaining the grounds have been pretty smart about it, they haven’t taken any risks. We’re prepared to call it off early as we have done because it could do long-term damage and no one wants that.”
