It's a scenario that has happened all too often for local cricketers in recent years - a grand final abandoned without a ball being bowled.
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The inaugural Two Rivers first grade cricket competition won't have a team name etched on the trophy for the 2022/2023 season after wet weather washed out the decider between Port City Leagues and Macquarie Hotel on March 25.
Hastings River District Cricket Association president Craig Lobegeier admitted it was the fourth-straight local grand final to have not been completed.
"It's a real blow to end a great season," Lobegeier said.
Disappointed Macquarie Hotel captain Josh Hyde would like to see the competition start a few weeks earlier in 2023/2024 in an attempt to complete the season at the back end.
"I think by now we probably need to try and start the season a couple of weeks earlier," Hyde said.
"If you get two weeks in a row washed out I think that's not good for the overall spectacle because you've had two weeks off, but if that's what you need to do I'm sure players would be happy to do that."
Macquarie's 74-run defeat at the hands of Camden Haven in 2019 is the only grand final to have been completed since 2016 as a perfect storm of COVID-19, wet weather or bushfires wreaked havoc on community sport.
Hyde said the 2023 decider loomed as the perfect way to finish the first season of a competition that included teams from the Hastings and Macleay.
"It's extremely unfortunate because they're the sort of games you really want to be a part of and this year's build-up to the grand final was pretty epic," he said.
"Two-all, we'd won the May Kelly (twenty20), they beat us to become minor premiers and then we beat them to go straight to the grand final.
"It was like it was written for a big one, but it's completely disappointing we didn't get to do it on our terms and unfortunately we'll never know what the result was going to be."
The Macquarie captain also suggested he would like to see a tweak to the calendar ahead of next season with all three formats - two-day (80-overs), 40-overs and 20-over cricket all included.
"I'd like to see a two-day grand final, a one-day grand final and then a twenty20 grand final at the back end of the season which gives all teams the opportunity to be a part of some semi-finals," he said.
"Some might be better at 80-over cricket, some might be better at 40-over cricket, some might be better at T20 cricket. You've just got to get the players to jump on board for two-day cricket."
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