Talk of grand final redemption faded as the dark night sky turned red and threw the tight-knit Hawkesdale community into panic on Saturday night.

Defending their score on day two – which was eventually postponed – paled into insignificance as Cats players turned into volunteer firefighters.

Cats all-rounder Ben Julius said teammates David West, James North, Daniel Roache and brothers Harrison and Fletcher Cozens were among whose family properties were in danger.

Julius, who lives in the town centre, sent his parents Geordie and Kate, wife De-Jay and six-month-old son Archie to safety.

He opted to stay and help as the firefront threatened the rural community.

“I was in Hawkesdale myself, I wasn’t actually on the fireground but the glow coming over the rise was just crazy,” Julius reflected on Monday as the recovery efforts continued.

“You wouldn’t had to have turned a street light on in Hawkesdale – you could see it clear as day through the red glow.

“The wind was moving so fast and it was coming straight down from Gazette. Having a look at the maps today, it just made a beeline from Gazette straight towards Hawkesdale.”

The blaze got to within 2.5 kilometres of Hawkesdale’s town centre, with Julius “probably the most worried I have ever been”.

He said Hawkesdale “was a bit of a ghost town” as the community rallied together and heeded the evacutation warnings.

Those who stayed worked as a team, much like the Cats had in posting 203 against Killarney earlier in the day.

“I felt a bit useless up and leaving when everyone else is trying so hard to save the town, so I thought I’d stay and do my bit as well,” Julius said.

“Saturday night I was going around door-knocking around town, making sure everyone was aware it was an evacuation and (to find) anyone we knew was staying.

“Everyone had talked to everyone else, bandied together and evacuated. It’s a pretty good feeling that the community can get together as one when stuff goes bad.”

Julius’ teammates turned volunteer firefighters as the blaze threatened properties on Hawkesdale’s outskirts.

“Most of our team haven’t lost any property but there’s definitely been two or three that have been right on the edge of the fire who were pretty close to losing property,” he said.

Teenager Harrison Cozens helped his dad Simon until the early hours of Sunday morning.

He returned school with younger brother Fletcher a day later as families tried to return to a sense of normality.

That’s where cricket finds its place. 

Julius hopes that sport can rise from the ashes and allow people to smile after an exhausting and frightening period.

“Hopefully now we can get back out there next Saturday and win the granny,” he said.

“Obviously it did take a bit of a backstep which was a smart decision by both captains, both Brayden (Buchanan) from Killarney and Kurt (Buchanan) and the league to call it as they did.

“I think it would have been not much of a game on Sunday and we would have had people miss and tired people.”

The Grassmere Cricket Association grand final will resume on Saturday at Purnim.