Yass's first foray into the Burns Cup was not ideal.
Up against Goulburn last Sunday, the Yabbies lost the toss and had to contend with a wicket which had been soaked by sprinklers overnight.
Yass captain Josh Carmody said the condition of the wicket had a "huge" impact on his side's batting performance.
"It played a major role. The sprinklers were left on overnight for a few hours and the pitch was unplayable," Carmody said.
"Me and the Goulburn captain [Dane Stevenson] decided we'd have a game of cricket. They won the toss and sent us in and the pitch was not very kind."
Having delayed the match by an hour and a half to let the pitch dry, Yass's innings quickly started badly and only got worse.
Mitch Callagher was the lone bright spot among the batsmen, as he top-scored with 35 to bring the Yabbies' total to 108 all out from 31.1 overs.
"We batted quite well really, we made 108 which I thought was a fairly competitive total if it kept playing the way it was," Carmody said.
But, as often happens in cricket, it seemed the fates had conspired on Sunday as the scorching heat dried the wicket throughout the afternoon.
By the time Goulburn's opening batsmen took to the crease, the pitch possessed considerably fewer demons, and the visitors got off to a flyer.
Though Carmody and Callagher each broke through for Yass in quick succession, Goulburn's openers had done too much damage, and they reached the target two down in 27.2 overs.
"No-one bowled badly, we were just under the pump," Carmody said of the second innings.
"We used five or six bowlers in a short amount of time, we had to create some chances and it didn't happen for us."
After an inopportune debut in the Burns Cup, Carmody and the rest of the Yabbies will soon have the chance to avenge last weekend's loss when they travel to Goulburn this Sunday.
When coming off a loss, the instinct for many cricketers is to try and diagnose the causes and apply changes. But Carmody's belief in his team and understanding of his players' capabilities is keeping him relaxed.
"I don't think we'll change too much, we've just got to turn up and if the conditions are more even it'll be a different game," he said.
"I'm expecting a lot closer game in general, I don't want to go too in depth, we'll just play our best and let the result take care of itself."
The Yass Yabbies will travel to Goulburn this Sunday, February 9, for the second round of the Burns Cup.
