When Killarney played a twenty20 match against Yambuk on January 4, captain Brayden Buchanan had to leave before the game was over.
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He was about to the walk to the pitch to bat when he received a call from the army reserve.
Buchanan "went out and swung" and was dismissed for a golden duck.
Next thing, he was headed to Victoria's high country.
For the past month he's helped with bushfire relief in the Alpine Shire.
Places included Myrtleford, Bright, Porepunkah, Mount Hotham and Mount Buller - popular destinations for south-west families to visit.
Buchanan, who has been with the army reserve for six years, just finished his bushfire relief work this week.
He's ready to lead the Crabs again with a match against second-ranked Panmure on Saturday in the Grassmere Cricket Association. The clash is at Killarney Recreation Reserve.
Buchanan's younger brother Kyle and teammate Stuart Hill have shared the captaincy in his absence.
Kyle has grabbed the challenge with both hands and scored his first century (104 not out) a fortnight ago against Mailors Flat.
"That's been something in the pipework since he was 13," Brayden said of his brother's milestone.
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The bottom-ranked Crabs haven't won a one-day match this season but they reached a semi-final in the twenty20 competition in January.
Buchanan said his side had to stay positive, in what is unfamiliar territory for one of the association's juggernauts.
"It's been about 10 years since we missed (one-day) finals," he said.
"It's unfamiliar ground for a lot us.
"But we've just got to stay positive."
The Crabs skipper said the loss of players, retirements and player unavailability had made it a tough season.
He praised his team's regular players who have stayed upbeat this summer.
In other division one matches, Yambuk faces Hawkesdale, Purnim hosts Wangoom and Mailors Flat with battle with Grassmere.
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