As fate would have it, a deluge of rain washed the match out before a ball was bowled and Balgownie progressed through to the final by virtue of their first-place finish.

The rain has returned in 2019, with dark clouds looming over this weekend's Cricket Illawarra semi-finals. This year, however, it's Northern Districts who hold the higher seed and will progress to next week's grand final should the match finish a draw. 

Not that the Butchers are relying on the rain to see them through. 

"The rain could affect our plans on Saturday, depending on what the wicket looks like," vice-captain Joe McDevitt said.

"Obviously we've got the comfort of knowing if it does rain, we've got protection and we go through. But to think about that is pretty negative, so we'll try to ignore the weather."

McDevitt is one of few Northern Districts players with first-grade finals experience, having played in Corrimal's 2015 grand final loss to Balgownie. 

Despite this finals inexperience, he's not concerned his teammates will struggle to cope with the increased pressure. 

"We're not worried about it, I'm confident the guys can step up. There's been a few moments in the last month or two that have been quite high pressure and the guys responded pretty well."

Read more: Keira building momentum ahead of Cricket Illawarra finals

Northern Districts' opponents lie at the opposite end of the finals spectrum, Balgownie having played semi-finals cricket the last five years and won three of the past four premierships.

Magpies captain Graeme Batty confirmed his side will attempt to expose their opponents' lack of finals experience and will ensure the Butchers feel the pressure throughout the entire match. 

"Joe's the key, he'll have to get a score to get them across the line," Batty said. "They're young, inexperienced, so we'll go hard at them, on and off the ball.

"We have the team to win, but we have no pressure on us. They'll be nervous, we've got nothing to lose, we limped in, all the pressure is on them to back up their season."

Balgownie's route to the finals has been a winding one, with the Magpies sitting outside the top four until they found form with big wins over University and Corrimal.

Batty recognises the weather will likely play a major role in the semi-final, however he's confident his team will prevail, if they are able to spend a prolonged period of time on the field at Keira Village.

"If it turns out to be a wet-weather game, we have to bowl first. Keira Village, when wet, is bowler friendly, so hopefully we get some luck with the toss and we can start the game ahead on Saturday.

"If we get two good days in, I'm very confident we can win, it just depends on the weather. If we have two dry days, we're very confident, super pumped and in a good mindset."

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