Rain, smoke force Canberra Cavalry to book 'back-up venue' in Sydney

But the expected wet weather looms as an extra layer of complication ahead of the Cavalry's last home series of the Australian Baseball League season.

Cavalry officials have organised a back-up venue in Sydney for their clashes against Auckland to give them flexibility to move games if conditions deteriorate.

The main concern is the smoke, which has already forced the Cavalry to cancel games against Brisbane and Adelaide this season and was the trigger for a new ABL policy.

Games will now be postponed or abandoned if the air quality jumps above the 300 threshold, which is why Blacktown is on standby as a venue for the Cavalry-Auckland series from Thursday.

The rain, however, could be a bigger problem with wet weather forecast to hit Canberra and Sydney.

"It's definitely looking a lot more promising than it was a couple of weeks ago," said Cavalry general manager Dan Amodio.

"Our plan is to play four games in Canberra this weekend, but keeping that in mind we've seen how quickly things can change. So we're going to keep close watch on the weather from an air quality standpoint and, in a funny turn, the much-needed rain.

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"We're now working with an official air-quality process, so that takes some of the guesswork out. Should we have some additional issues, we've arranged for a back-up venue to be ready in western Sydney.

"We'll go there if we need to, but the plan is to have all four games in Canberra."

The smoke-affected games have left a gaping hole in the Cavalry's finances, but the club was determined to turn cancellations into a positive by partnering with the Village Building Co to raise more than $10,000 for the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Team officials hope the smoke and rain stay away to clear the air for fans to return to the stands to offset the cost of cancelling games.

The players are hoping supporters come back in time to watch them make a charge to the finals.

The Cavalry is fourth on the overall standings with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

"It's a priority for us to win now ... we want to play here in front of the home fans and win this series," said Robbie Perkins.

If the Cavalry maintains its place on the standings, it will host a knockout wildcard series in the first week of the play-offs.

"You've just got to be ready to play when they call. It upsets the rhythm a bit, but it hasn't affected us as a group," Perkins said.