The dust storm which rolled into Dubbo in the late morning made conditions unsuitable for play and while matches were initially delayed for more than an hour, the decision was soon made to abandon play altogether.

Several Shoalhaven based players took part in the competition held in the Central West.

North Nowra Cambewarra product Emily Zefara was named in the Country Thunder side for the the under 13s Girls State Challenge.

Star Shoalhaven batsman Tom Fletcher (Bay and Basin) played for Country Thunder in the upcoming under 14s,while two strong local players Jackson Ingram (Bomaderry) and Ryan Malecki (Bay and Basin) will represented the area in the Country Thunder's under 13s side.

Cricket NSW senior pathway manager Mark Cameron said the decision was made while looking at the rules of play regarding "unreasonable or unsafe" conditions.

In the end it was a simple decision to make, with the Lady Cutler ovals in particular engulfed in dust.

"I think it's certainly unreasonable, that's the easiest way to put it, and I'd suggest it's a little dangerous so we came off for the health and safety of players, coaches, parents and staff and I think it's the right decision," Cameron said.

"I'm very comfortable with it.

"It's a shame because there was two very good finals being played. There was two country teams and two city teams and I was really looking forward to a couple of good games of cricket."

The weather-enforced cancellation of the matches followed on from the abandonment of the Kookaburra and Bradman Cup carnivals at Albury before a ball was bowled due to the threat of bushfires, while this season's NSW Country Colts carnival in Bathurst was also called off early due to poor air quality.

"It is a shame," Cameron said.

"It just highlights how poor this summer has been in terms of not only air quality, but also bushfires.

"This pales in significance compared to what others have gone through."

While the carnival didn't end the way Cameron, the finalists, or anyone involved wish it to end there was still plenty of praise for the cricket produced.

Some of the state's most exciting talents did battle for three-and-a-half days, with some of the standout performers hailing from the western area.

The Country Thunder South West under 13s side, featuring a number of Western Zone juniors, made an unbeaten run to Thursday's decider.

Coached by Dubbo's Greg Rummans, the Country Thunder South West was in the midst of a close grand final battle with Metro Sixers South East when the match was called off.

Metro Sixers South East was 8/153 with one over remaining in its innings, with three of the country bowlers having taken two wickets each.

In the under 14s decider, Metro Thunder Outer West had posted 9/202 from its 40 overs against Country Sixers Northern NSW prior to the dust rolling in.

Those deciders followed on from the girls' under 13s final earlier in the week, which was won by the Metro Sixers.

"Minus the last few hours I think the week has been fantastic," Cameron added as families packed up in the dust around him.

"I was quite pleased in the evenness of the standard. We had 20 teams, male and female across 13s and 14s, and I didn't see any real standout team and I didn't see any tram that was really weak.

"I saw really even competition and I thought the whole week was a real success. The learning environment the coaches produced were great and the officials did well."