Cricket: Rain could prove the winner

The final of the State Twenty20 today is shaping as a damp squib - on two fronts.

Rain is forecast for Dunedin, where Otago are due to meet Canterbury.

With the wet stuff seemingly targeting every high-profile cricket match in the country this summer, it will just be another in a catalogue of unsatisfactory results should it affect the final.

It drizzled all afternoon yesterday and groundsman Tom Tamati is working on a ground that was shown to have questionable drainage during the rain-effected test between New Zealand and West Indies in December.

If no play is possible, and Canterbury left Christchurch yesterday with little expectation they will get a game, then Otago will win by virtue of winning the round-robin phase.

While disappointing, it would not be an unjust result. Even given Otago's tendency to fall flat in finals - they have won just one of four in recent years - they have been the class of field all competition and, bolstered by man of the hour Brendon McCullum, they will be a tough nut for a Shane Bond-inspired Canterbury to crack.

If there is a match and, more importantly, a result, a second dark cloud looms.

There is still no word as to whether the winners will gain entry into the lucrative Champions League.

What appeared fait accompli a month ago is now shrouded in doubt.

New Zealand Cricket was to have been told in time to market this final as a pathway to riches but a NZC spokesman yesterday confirmed it had still to receive confirmation that the winners would be in India in October.

With the world's financial systems shaken to their foundations there is speculation that the Champions League might shelve its plans for immediate expansion - a potential body blow for New Zealand hopes of involvement.