Michael Vaughan, former England captain, has expressed his frustration after the fourth game of the 2023-24 Big Bash League (BBL) was abandoned due to an unsafe wet pitch. There was awkward bounce and the surface unexpectedly turned out to be a minefield.
The Melbourne Renegades’ first home match of the season against the Perth Scorchers at GMHBA Stadium was occurred by this incident. The pitch was deemed dangerous for batters by the match officials after only 6. 5 overs in the first innings. This is an extremely poor result.
Before the game, Geelong experienced heavy rain that caused water to leak out of the covers and onto the pitch, resulting in an extremely uneven bounce.
Cricket has a habit of these scenarios- Michael Vaughan
In his broadcast on Fox Cricket, Vaughan expressed the view that cricket should take more responsibility and prevent such incidents.
“I just get frustrated with cricket. Cricket has a habit of these scenarios. I’m pretty sure they knew it was going to rain all day yesterday, can’t you get extra covers in? We always just think ‘oh it’s unfortunate’, but seriously you can’t get enough covers to cover an area of turf and get more covers in to make sure today’s game goes ahead,” said Vaughan.
Vaughan referenced other similar incidents in the past and maintained his disapproval.
“I saw it in a Test match in the UK at Old Trafford, I saw it last year at the SCG when there wasn’t enough covering … too much time taken out of the game. I just find sometimes in cricket we make too many excuses for things that should not happen. That shouldn’t be the case that a game gets abandoned because water got on the pitch. If you get rain that is unexpected I completely understand that. But I’m pretty sure yesterday it was always going to rain all day,” added Vaughan.
Renegades skipper Nic Maddinson was fully aware of the damp conditions and requested the Scorchers to bat first.
Before the call-off, several balls bounced dangerously as the defending champions reached 30/2 in the recommended overs of 6. 5.
The moment we got to the ground we were all a bit suspicious- Adam Gilchrist on the abandoned game
The pitch conditions were already suspicious, as reported by former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist even before the contest began.
The Adelaide Strikers Brisbane Heat game was abandoned for the second game in a row after heavy rain disrupted the previous day’s BBL.
“The moment we got to the ground we were all a bit suspicious. There is talk how much do you talk about and do you try ignore it and let the show carry on because of all the contributing factors, the fans, the kids who are here, us as broadcasters and the players. But it was very, very obvious and then Nic Maddinson said it at the toss. We heard him say, “the wicket is drenched and that’s why I am going to bowl,” Gilchrist told Fox Cricket.
Following the abandoned game, Cricket Australia (CA) issued a statement. As per the report, the ground staff spent the entire day rectifying the situation, and the umpires determined that the pitch was safe for the start of the game. According to the statement, a full investigation will be conducted and fans will be reimbursed for their tickets.
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