The Canberra Cavalry and Twenty20 cricket were the first victims of the ACT's big wet with both called off on Thursday night - without a ball being bowled or a pitch being thrown.
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A week of wild weather left Narrabundah Ballpark and the capital's community cricket grounds unplayable and all games called off.
It's a blow to the Cavalry's bid to lure fans back with their series against the Perth Heat, with the rain set to have a major impact on Canberra's crowd figures for the second week in a row.
Cavalry officials scrambled to fit four games in last weekend after last Friday night's match was abandoned midway through due to the weather.
They were also forced to postpone Thursday night's series opener more than two hours before the first pitch because the ballpark was unsafe to play on.
It has been rescheduled to Saturday at 3pm - to form a double header with their 6pm game. At this stage Friday night's game will go ahead as planned.
Cricket ACT's T20 games scheduled for Thursday night were also cancelled due to the state of the fields.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe storm warning for the capital on Wednesday, scuppering Cavalry general manager Ciaran O'Rourke's hopes of getting through an entire series without disruption this week.
"It certainly stings. We were all geared up for a big opening weekend and you get a forecast of rain which affects people's mentality about going out," O'Rourke said.
"Friday night was looking really good, we were doing good trade, coming off a big win, and then the rain put a dampener on most of the spirits. That just trails through for the weekend as well. It's a big investment of [fans'] time to get out to the ballpark and watch the games, and if they're not sure that it's actually going to happen then they don't really show up.
![Football Park took a hammering from Wednesday's rain. Picture supplied Football Park took a hammering from Wednesday's rain. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/7d884bdc-66f1-4ef0-b4f4-72b686e2d376.jpg/r0_155_2048_1306_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We just need it to ease up a little bit in the morning to make sure the field is prepared. That's the first point of call, making sure the 60ml we're getting [on Wednesday] is able to clear off the field.
"It's more the warning track around the outside and the actual skin around the bases, the grass is fine. If you get those ready, we should be good to go."
The fans who did turn up last weekend got closer to the field than they had anticipated, answering a call to arms to help take the tarp off the field so the Cavalry could get play underway on Saturday.
"I think a lot of people actually enjoyed getting out there on the field and getting to be a part of it. It's not too often in professional sport you can see that sort of community sport come into action, and it's something we're pretty proud of," O'Rourke said.
"The night before we had the players rolling the tarp out, and that was a unique view for a professional baseball league. The next day, getting the fans out on the ground to help pack it all up, it felt inspiring to see the community rally behind the cause to get the game going.
"I think the kids enjoyed getting out there. Nobody went flying away or anything like that, we got it all done. From what I saw, people really enjoyed it. They don't want to do it every day but it's a nice little novelty every now and then."
The severe storm warning prompted the ACT government to close all public grounds for organised activity. It follows almost 50 millimetres of rain on Tuesday night.
"All ACT government turf sportsgrounds are closed for training and match-play on Wednesday, 29 November 2023," the government said.
"A reassessment will be undertaken on Thursday, 30 November 2023 to determine ground suitability for that day.
"Grounds not affected by this closure are Melrose synthetic (Pearce 2), Nicholls synthetic and Woden Park (synthetic athletics track)."
The rain is a welcome relief for ACT ground managers, who have been trying to retrain grass roots at fields around the city after years of relentless wet weather.
In an attempt to prepare fields for expected prolonged extreme heat and minimal rain, government officials revealed they had been reducing the amount of water used to encourage roots to grow deeper into the soil.
Some grounds around Canberra were already starting to show wear and tear of a lack of water, but the two days of rain will be a welcome relief on the eve of summer.
None of it mattered to the Canberra Raiders, though, as the players returned from their off-season breaks to start preparations for the 2024 NRL campaign.
The players took a break from fitness and strength testing on Tuesday to dive through puddles at the club's Braddon headquarters.
"Can we agree that [Trey Mooney] has the worst dive in the club," Corey Harawira-Naera posted on Instagram.