Ballarat Cricket Association will have to wait at least another season before getting the chance to erase the pain of this year's Melbourne Country Week provincial grade grand final defeat.
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It has been confirmed that the 2021 carnival has been abandoned as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to plague Victorian sport.
Victorian Country Cricket League president Kelvin White said the decision to abandon the competition wasn't a knee-jerk one.
"Clearly the COVID situation has raised lots of complications and an environment that makes it fairly hard to make decisions short and long term," White said.
"Our major aim at the moment is to support associations as they get their cricket up and going.
"Cricket Victoria are a sponsor of country week and they weren't in a position this season to help with sponsorship."
White said the board even looked at hosting Melbourne Country Week outside the metropolitan area, but felt it was unfair to burden country associations with hosting duties during a difficult time for cricket.
"It's just not a priority in the current environment I suppose, as much as it disappoints us," he said.
"We see it absolutely as a one-off decision here and we are hoping that next year we are back on board."
The carnival was last abandoned in season 1982-83 due to drought conditions.
The BCA was beaten by the Bendigo District league in the decider last season with its total of 8-219 chased down with four wickets in hand.
