The board of the National Counties Cricket Association have a major headache in finding a free date to restage their T20 Finals Day.
Rain curtailed play on Sunday and then washed out the reserve day at Chester Boughton Hall.
It left the organisers with a logistical problem in trying to find a date – or dates – when the three matches might be rearranged.
All the remaining weekends in the season are already fully booked up with 50 overs National Counties Trophy, three-day Durant Sport National Counties Championship games or Showcase matches involving the 20 National Counties and the 18 first-class counties.
At present the only available free date is Sunday September 8, four days after the scheduled end of the National Counties season.
It is the first time that no matches at Finals Day have not been completed and only the second time that a reserve day has been required.
Cumbria have had a reprieve and will be involved in a re-play from scratch of their semi-final with Oxfordshire.
They had their backs to the wall on Sunday night when play ended early. Chasing 127 for victory they were 96-8 with 2.1 overs left to bowl.
Despite a more optimistic weather forecast and the efforts of the host club’s ground staff, further beefy showers during the morning topped up Sunday’s heavy rain and left the ground unplayable.
The lunchtime abandonment meant that the first semi-final between Cumbria and Oxfordshire – the only match in which play was possible on Sunday – could not be completed with the second semi-final between holders Staffordshire and Berkshire and the final being washed out completely.
