Is it just me, or are all the cricket players out there sick of the rain?

Already this season, as a local cricketer in Melbourne, I have played on only two of the allocated nine weekends as the rain has bucketed down, almost on cue, each Friday. With showers forecast again for the rest of this week, it's already looking like the eighth washout of the 'summer'. It is the worst start to the season in the last 20 years.

I know it is out of their hands, but the organisation that could end up most affected by the drought-breaking downpours is Cricket Australia, who are desperately trying to capture a new generation of cricket fans.

One of the biggest drawcards of our suburban league are the two-day matches scheduled over consecutive weekends. As an opening batsman, and not a particularly free-scoring one, I love the chance to grind out a decent innings over 80 overs, something I haven't been able to do so far this season. And as a developing leg-spinner, I rarely get a bowl in the one-day games as runs are at a premium.

Even in Melbourne's elite competition, Premier Cricket, where all the pitches are fully covered, they have only played two completed matches and that was over the same weekend. Five rounds have been completely washed out, while another two matches were left incomplete due to the rain.

The season had already been postponed a week due to the drawn AFL grand final. As luck would have it, the weekend of the grand final reply had outstanding weather, ideal for the start of the cricket season.

The crowd figures at the international cricket this season - especially the one-dayers - have been poor, and that's been a nation-wide trend. Clearly Cricket Australia has some worrying issues to deal with in terms of the sport's appeal to the younger generation. Their junior cricket programs such as Kanga Cricket are great - but the fact so much play can be lost to bad weather must surely hinder their attempts to promote the code. In that sense, cricket is solar-powered; it needs the sun.

In my experience - and I'm not long out of school - the participation rates have undoubtedly dropped off. When I finished Year 12 in 2007, cricket was flourishing at my school in Essendon, which fielded three competitive sides.

Today, it seems the levels of participation has become stagnant, with that same school only being able to field one senior team, while the junior teams are struggling to field even a single team. At the same time, the interest in basketball has exploded, as football coaches are persuading their players to the indoor sport for enhanced fitness levels.

For Australia's truly national sport to keep flourishing at the domestic and grassroots levels, we need to have as many players competing as often as possible. There is nothing we can do about the weather, but it is annoying.

My anger is heightened by the fact the weather often remains perfect during the week, and only decides to bucket down come Friday night and all day Saturday. Recent figures released by the Bureau of Meteorology show it has rained on 45 per cent of all Saturdays this year.

Last week was the perfect example. Early on, I was walking around in T-Shirts and shorts and had the air-conditioning on. Come the weekend, and I had to pull the beanie out.

The rain has also had a remarkable affect on the racing industry. At Sandown on Saturday, the mudlarks were in vogue once again, as the horses were forced to slug it out on a heavy 10, the worst possible rating, resulting in nearly 40 scratchings for an eight-race meeting.

It really is just frustrating. Thousands of people around the state plan their week by knowing their Saturdays are booked out, expecting a day of cricket.

Other than Cricket Australia, the people who I feel most sorry for are all the players who strive at work all week and have their weekend comfort and sanctuary regularly snatched away. Rain, rain, go away.