After cancelling the last round of fixtures of this season's Sheffield Shield, country's premier domestic first-class competition, Cricket Australia had said a decision on the tournament final will be taken in "due course".
However, the board on Tuesday (March 17) had to extend the suspension to the final also and declare New South Wales as trophy holders amid growing risk of COVID-19 pandemic.
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Shield, contested since its inaugural edition in 1892, had to stop before this only during the two world wars, which is telling of how difficult the current circumstances are.
NSW were declared winners for topping the six-team points table after nine rounds of games that had already been played.
CA also recommended the cancellation of all community cricket for the summer. The board has also shut down all its offices with the staff asked to work from home until further notice.
"By effectively cancelling the remainder of our season, Cricket Australia is playing its part in protecting fans, players, staff, volunteers and match officials during this unprecedented global health issue. These are difficult decisions, but the right ones in the circumstances," CA CEO Kevin Roberts said in an official statement.
“Many will no doubt be disappointed that the Sheffield Shield, Premier Cricket and Community Cricket seasons won’t have their traditional ending. That said, we congratulate New South Wales who were 12 points clear at the top of the table on being crowned Sheffield Shield champions."
“As organisations around the world rally to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it’s important that we also provide decisive leadership," Roberts added.
"We hope that by taking these actions now – in addition to those announced in recent days – we can contribute to ‘flattening the curve’ of coronavirus and society returning to normal as quickly as possible."
Last international assignment of the summer - the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy - also got indefinitely postponed after New Zealand government put strict travelling restrictions on all its citizens, making it necessary for the national side to immediately fly back.
The upcoming T20I series in New Zealand between the neighbours was also suspended.
