University-grange is unlikely to take a full part in the senior competition this summer and Taieri came close to pulling out of the tournament.
The Dunedin Cricket Association will meet tonight to discuss proposed options for the season which do not include University-Grange during the traditional university holiday period.
University-Grange club captain Sam Lewis said the club was unlikely to have the playing numbers to sustain a senior team during that period.
''It would be unlikely at this stage,'' he said.
''We are trying to get as many people on board but we also want to be able to field a quality side.
''We could field a team but we would not field a competitive side necessarily if we just put 11 random guys on the field just for the sake of it.
''We want to put 11 guys on the field who are quality cricketers who are going to be competitive. I don't think it would be fair on our opponents if we don't.''
University-Grange president and former Otago cricketer Andrew Hore was disappointed but resigned to the fact his beloved club might have to skip part of the summer.
''It is going to be a trend with the way things are going at the moment,'' Hore said.
''We can't seem to get too many local players involved.
''It probably means I'll just have to come out of retirement. It is the sort of thing you do when your club is in strife.''
Hore has been a member of the club since 1988 and played 26 first-class games for Otago from 1996-97 to 2003-04.
He also made 45 appearances for Otago in one-day clothing.
''In the past, we've had a reasonable nucleus of local players so we can sort of hold it together. But it has always been an issue.
"That is why we have never really been dominating championships. We are a good side when we are at full strength.''
University-Grange is not alone in its struggles. Taieri Cricket Club president Mike Hart said his club would field a team in the senior tournament but had to scrape to reach that point.
''We will have a senior team but it is highly unlikely we will have a second-grade team because we don't have enough players to do both,'' Hart said.
''We've tried a lot of things and we've rung a lot of people. We're going to struggle.
"We're certainly not going to be a strong team but we had the option.
''We either bit the bullet and put in a senior team if we felt we could, or we had no senior team and just had a team in second grade.''
That latter option was unpalatable for a proud club such as Taieri.
The club was formed in 1878 but did not win its first senior banner until 1977-78.
It won again 10 years later and captured a further two titles in the 1990s.
Since the turn of the century, it has been one of the marquee clubs, winning three titles from 2002-03 to 2006-07.
But while junior numbers are still strong, there has been a steady decline in the senior ranks during the past seven years.
''Without the senior club, the junior club would have to somehow fund the entire Brooklands complex.
"They wouldn't be able to do it, so it becomes a big snowball effect.
''That was the decision we had to make. If we dropped out of the senior competition it could be very hard to get back in.
"We thought our best option was to put a senior team in.''
Taieri has not completely given up on fielding a second-grade team but it would depend on the club recruiting more players in time for the second round.
Otago Boys' High School shapes as a potential casualty should University-Grange not feature from mid-November to the end of January.
The clubs will be faced with either accepting a bye round or clipping the school from the grade.
''That would be unfortunate,'' Hart said.
''The club teams really enjoyed having them in the competition and it would be a tragedy if they weren't able to play in it this year.''
