Finding a date for the competition’s decider has been an arduous task, with a number of options put forward over the last month. At last, the grand final will be played, three months after the most recent T20 match.

The match will be played in Ballarat, to the joy of the Bolts outfit, who finished two games clear on top of the ladder.

Originally the grand final was scheduled to be played on a Saturday (December 1), which was met with some criticism given it is a Sunday competition. 

Therefore it was moved to Sunday, December 2, midway through the season, throwing a spanner in the works of the Bolts’ plans, who were sitting comfortably in the top two and had previously planned their own schedules around a Saturday grand final – if they happened to make it.

Therefore the change to Sunday would have seen the Ballarat team forced to forfeit.

Cricket Victoria then put forward December 23, but that was quickly shut down. The Sunday two days prior to Christmas making it unlikely both sides would be anywhere near full strength, let alone field a full compliment.

After much discussion, it was finalised that the best option was for the grand final to be played on a day that Craigieburn was already coming to Ballarat, therefore February 3, where the two sides are scheduled for a one-day match, was the preferred choice. The grand final will be played in the morning before the one-dayer.

Ballarat Bolts committee member Greg Wakeling said the double-header was the option that suited both sides best, in an otherwise not ideal circumstance.

“Our girls won’t care, we’re happy to back it up,” Wakeling said.

“We’ll just play two games on the day, it will be a little bit weird. We’ll hopefully celebrate a grand final and then pad-up and do it again.”

Bolts star player Renee Moffitt echoed the thoughts of Wakeling.

“We’re disappointed to not play it in this half of the year, but we still get to play in it which is awesome,” Moffitt said.

“Craigieburn is a really good side, I think it will be a real battle.”

The Bolts have since begun the one-day competition. The competition will return on January 13, with the Bolts set to play Melbourne University, in search of its first result of the competition after a bye and a wash out.