And while New Zealand farmers have been crying out for precipitation all summer, it was the Mount Maunganui premier cricket team left teary-eyed after rain reduced the Northern Districts qualifying final for the National Club Championships to a bowl off at Blake Parkon Sunday.
The Baywide champs, who beat Hamilton side Star Varsity to earn a place in the ND final against Northland's Kaipara Flats, fell 7-6 in a sudden death bowl off in miserable conditions - breaking Bay of Plenty's five-year stranglehold on the Eric Petrie Cup.
A total of 3.8mm of rain had fallen in Tauranga in the 31 days before Sunday, but about 8mm fell between noon and 6pm, washing out the home side's solid start of 26/1 from just six completed overs.
To prevent the cruel prospect of a coin toss deciding which team would represent ND at the national finals in Auckland, the umpires and both captains agreed on a bowl off - in which six bowlers from each side twice attempted to hit the stumps in pouring rain.
Locked together at six-all after 12 attempts, the sides entered a sudden-death situation. Kaipara Flats' opening bowler Kevin Forde hit, Mount's Pete Drysdale missed, and the contest was decided.
Mount captain Mark Divehall congratulated his northern rivals and wished them well in representing the association, while Kaipara Flats player/coach Michael Parlane congratulated his team, thanked the umpires and empathised with a gutted Mount side who will contest the Williams Cup final against Greerton on Saturday.
