Reserve day put in place for Dubbo District Cricket Association grand finals

Five-to-10mls of rain is predicted for Dubbo each day from Friday through to Monday but DDCA president Ben Semmler is hopeful all three deciders will go ahead as planned.

Dubbo Regional Council staff have prepared pitches earlier this week to ensure they won't be affected if any rain falls on Friday while Sunday is a standby day should no play be possible on the Saturday.

A switch of days would impact junior cricket grand final locations as they are currently scheduled for Sunday.

"We're hopeful we can get some sort of play on Saturday so Sunday won't be required," Semmler said.

"But if for any reason we can't get on we do have that Sunday up our sleeve this year.

"It's good to get the communication out early so everyone knows the plan. But if teams start to play on Saturday they won't be coming back on Sunday to restart."

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If matches start on Saturday they will be finished that day and that ruling opens the door to the Duckworth-Lewis system potentially being used on the biggest day of the season.

While he's hopeful that's not the case, Semmler said it would add more drama and excitement to what poses as one of the best grand final days in recent seasons.

The teams that finished one and two in the RSL Whitney Cup, RSL Pinnington Cup and the RSL Kelly Cup have all advanced to the grand final.

In first grade, CYMS and club champions RSL Colts meet for the second successive year and the two sides have played out a number of close-fought thrillers this season.

In second grade, RSL Colts and Narromine will meet just two weeks after playing out an exhilarating tie in the major semi-final while Macquarie White is out to stop a powerful Newtown Rhinos in the third grade decider.

"A lot of clubs were represented in the semis so there's a good spread of talent across all the clubs," Semmler added.

"It's really pleasing to see Macquarie, Newtown and Narromine featuring in thew lower grades, Particularly Narromine in their first year here, it's been a great effort.

"I'm excited to see how the first grade game goes with the rivalry there over a few years and all the close games this season.

"I'm expecting three high-quality games this weekend with the top two playing each other because that doesn't always happen."

While the threat of rain is disappointing, the season has been a hugely pleasing one for Semmler and the DDCA board given there was so much uncertainty around sport at the start of summer.

The COVID pandemic has forced virtually every winter sporting competition to abandon its season before finals were played but cricket, up to this point, has gone ahead almost entirely unscathed.

"It's been a big effort this year from everyone. We're all looking forward to the weekend and hopefully three cracking games," Semmler said.

"Thankfully we haven't had as many disruptions as we could have had and we've basically got a full season in, which is really pleasing."

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