The 2019 cricket season ended without a ball being bowled yesterday in the One Communications Premier Division and First Division Championship games at St David’s and St John’s Field.

The season-ending matches were to feature the top two teams in each division, with Southampton Rangers, the Premier Division champions, due to meet Bailey’s Bay while First Division winners Willow Cuts were to play neighbours Somerset who finished second and secured their promotion the day before.

Neither match was played with the umpires at St David’s, Emmerson Carrington and Mark McCormack, calling the match off just around the 11am start after neither captain was on the field for the coin toss at 10.45am.

Both teams had players in the changing room getting ready to come out when the umpires abandoned the game.

Somerset returned to St John’s Field prepared to meet neighbours Willow Cuts in a top-of-the-table clash for the Champions Cup, but that match was called off after Cuts showed up with only two players. Cuts finished 21 points ahead of Somerset in the automatic promotion race.

“We handed in our teamsheet to the umpires, Willow Cuts had about two guys and forfeited the match,” said Somerset coach Jeff Richardson, whose team batted with ten men the day before against Cleveland, but had a full team out yesterday for the all-Somerset final.

Stephen Outerbridge, the veteran Bailey’s Bay player, questioned what purpose the Championship Cup matches serve at the end of a long season.

“I don’t see a point in playing the first and second-place games, I don’t know why we do it,” the former Bay captain said.

“It’s just so late and there were too many gaps in the schedule so we knew the end of the season was going to be kind of hectic. We probably should have tried to play as much cricket as possible before Cup Match.

“There are too many issues placed on the players and not enough questions to those that administrate the game. That’s my view and it hasn’t changed over the last ten years.”

Bay, who finished a distant 42 points behind unbeaten Rangers in the title race, failed to play their home game against the champions the previous weekend, because no umpires were assigned.

Luckily for both teams the top two places had already been secured, with Bay finishing second over St George’s by only one point.