Norfolk's bid to force an opening Minor Counties Championship win of the new season against Cambridgeshire was hit by a second successive washout at March.

Norfolk's bid to force an opening Minor Counties Championship win of the new season against Cambridgeshire was hit by a second successive washout at March.

The Eastern Division derby is poised to revert to a 100-over, one innings per side affair in today's scheduled finale after further overnight rain left parts of the outfield submerged.

March groundsman Mel Pooley remained downbeat over the prospects of any play at all to decide this local affair.

"Standing on the ground I can't see it being fit unless there is a miracle," he said. "If there's any more rain I would definitely rule out play in this particular match. At the moment it's a case of keeping our fingers crossed."

Some of Norfolk's players led an impromptu clean up operation in the brilliant mid afternoon sunshine following an overnight deluge.

"I've not seen conditions like this before," admitted skipper Paul Bradshaw.

"There was so much standing water lying on the outfield. If we get the predicted high winds then we'll have good drying weather and we can hopefully get a one-day game. We should be doing everything we can to make it a probability not just a possibility of play. We want to get some momentum going.

"If you look at the two sides on paper I feel we are strong favourites so obviously it would be disappointing not to get out there at all.

"Our lads are perhaps keener to play than Cambs and we'd back ourselves to take that attitude into the match and perform well. Anyone who was here on the first day and saw us warming up in damp conditions and doing everything we could to get ourselves ready would've seen that the team spirit in the camp is great."

Bradshaw is desperate to avoid a repeat of the rain-affected MCCA Knockout Trophy one day draw against Suffolk earlier in the season that ultimately wrecked Norfolk's bid to reach Lords in that competition.

"To pick up six points for a draw in this game if we don't get out there would be scant consolation," he said. "It would only take a little bit more bad weather over our festival to potentially ruin the whole championship season. We want a positive result to go up to Cumberland and carry that on so we reach the festival on a high."