Despite being told one thing about the heat policy on Friday and another thing on game day, Dennington and Russells Creek players were more than happy to go ahead and play cricket, according to their respective captains.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The two sides, playing in separate games which will determine who makes the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association's top four, both lost the coin toss and had to take the ball on Saturday, when the mercury hit a local top of 39.6 degrees.
As The Standard was informed last week, players were originally under the impression the WDCA's extreme heat policy held if the temperature exceeded 38 degrees at the start of play then matches would be cancelled.
But an email was sent out to umpires on Friday night – and relayed to captains the following day – clarifying the 38 degrees policy only applied when the forecast was for 40 degrees or above, with play only to be stopped if the heat exceeded that mark during the day.
And yet with plenty to play for Creekers skipper Cam Williams was more than happy to just get on with things.
Russells Creek, currently top of the table, is locked in an engaging battle with fifth-placed Merrivale, which managed to score 275 runs on the back of strong innings from Jeremy Burgess, Wil Fleming and Sean Fary.
The Creekers need to win to stay king of the hill and maximise their advantage heading into finals, while the Tigers need to win to have any chance of playing finals.
Williams said he thought his side was going to dismiss Merrivale for less than 200 after having it at 7-174, but praised the opposition's lower order for standing up.
"Full credit to them – they placed a lot of value on their wickets," he said. "And unfortunately we had a poor spell with the ball in the middle."
But Williams said Joe Kenna and Matt Petherick dug deep to bowl 47 overs and snag five wickets between them in trying conditions, leaving a very possible task for his batters.
"If we've still got wickets in hand by tea, it's definitely on," he said.
"It's going to be a cracking game. And you'd rather a match with some fire in the belly before finals than an easy run in, so we're relishing the challenge."
Dennington captain Zeb McCarthy said the extra drinks breaks and chance to rotate the 12th man through the field helped minimise the effects of the heat in his side's game against Woodford at Jack Keane Oval.
And while Eels skipper Nick Butters got off to a flying start to make a rapid-fire 68 runs, McCarthy said he was rapt the Dogs' bowlers had them at 5-100 by tea.
Woodford then rallied to finish with 247 runs after Ross Levett and Matt Wines both made half-centuries late in the day. But McCarthy said things could have been very different if Xavier Beks' direct hit made after a diving save had Wines run out on the last ball before tea.
"We definitely would have called for the score-review if possible," McCarthy joked.
Dennington, currently one point ahead of Woodford in third, needs either a win or a draw to guarantee a finals berth, with a loss to the Eels meaning the Dogs would have to hope Russells Creek knocks off Merrivale.
"If we can't chase the runs, then we're probably not good enough to play finals," McCarthy said. "But we'll just focus on our game and not worry about the others."