Bathurst was due to meet Dubbo in Dubbo to battle for glory, but with the hosting rights for the final not confirmed until last Sunday when the last round of the competition was completed, no ground had been booked.

With Dubbo hosting a state carnival next week and council staff busy preparing the grounds, no wicket was available on Sunday.

Rather than the game being moved to Bathurst, both title aspirants agreed for the game to be deferred.

Still, Qureshi feels that may end up working in Bathurst’s favour given the players he was going to be without and the anticipated hot conditions.

Aggressive opener Josh Toole, Henry Shoemark who belted 93 against Dubbo in the competition opener, strike bowler Matt Stephen and former Bathurst skipper Daniel Casey were all unavailable.

“Tooley has his buck’s party this week so Tooley was out, Case was out, Stepho and Henry was out with his broken finger as well,” Qureshi said.

“So it was probably good timing for us, I don’t know when the next date for the final is, we’ll just wait and see.

“We still had a good side together, but obviously it’s hard to replace a bloke like Tooley or Henry. Henry is such an intimidating guy, big body and just hits the ball very hard. He’s got a presence in the field as well and brings a lot to the team.

“Hopefully his finger is better by the time the next date rolls around and we’ll have him back on board.

“Stepho is a big part of this side, he’s the spearhead of the bowling line up, so he’s a very important part of the team.

“It’s meant to be pretty hot too, it’s not very nice playing in temperatures like that, I think it’s meant to get to 42 on Sunday at Dubbo.

“The boys are all excited and very keen, it’s probably what you say is that grand final feeling. We are keen to get in there and have some fun and do our best.”