Rain has caused the cancellation of the first days of the Gillette and Yoplait Cup tournaments in Palmerston North, for the first time in their history.

The national secondary schools' finals are a traditional part of the cricket scene now and fortunately for organisers, the possibility of rain had been covered in the rules surrounding the tournament.

What will happen now is that tomorrow's second day of games will continue as scheduled.

And to give the games an extra bite, the winners will now play a straight final on Tuesday with the losers playing off for third and fourth, in both competitions.

The decision to abandon play was made early today and teams have spent their day at the indoor centre in Palmerston North practising.

© CricInfo