BBL 2023 | Twitter in disbelief as Renegades-Scorchers clash bizarrely abandoned midway due to poor pitch

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Australia's reputation for furnishing poor pitches has risen in the recent past but the nation suffered a new low on Sunday when the Big Bash League encounter on Sunday had to be called off after 6.5 overs. The deck at the GMHBA stadium was labeled too damp after incessant showers the previous day.

Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to field first at the first GMHBA Stadium after their skipper Nic Maddinson called the pitch "absolutely drenched" following heavy overnight showers which had caused water to seep under the covers. Nevertheless, the Perth Scorchers began rather routinely even though runs were hard to scare right off the bat as both openers departed in the powerplay before things came to a head on the penultimate ball of the seventh over.
Wicket-keeper batter Josh Inglis, batting on 3, tried to hit a wide Will Sutherland length delivery through the line but the Kookaburra sprung off the surface, going past him at chest height before looping into a concerned-looking Quinton de Kock's gloves. Aaron Hardie, unbeaten on 23 off 27 deliveries at the other end, was quick to have a word with the umpire and after a brief discussion between the two on-field officials, the players quickly made their way off the ground. Before long, the match was declared abandoned and official statements soon followed.
 "On Sunday morning, the club was made aware that the GMHBA Stadium pitch sustained some water damage during Saturday's heavy rain. Kardinia Park Stadium Trust undertook work throughout the day to improve the condition of the wicket and match officials deemed the surface safe to commence play," a Renegades press release read.
"Our first thoughts are with our fans - the loyal supporters we have across Geelong and Victoria. We are incredibly disappointed in tonight's events. We had an important match against the Scorchers and our fans have a right to feel incredibly let down. It should have been a great night of cricket and we will discuss the outcomes of that in the days ahead. The club will ensure that all general public ticket purchasers are refunded," the team's general manager James Rosengarten further added.
Umpire Ben Treloar revealed his thought process behind not abandoning the match before play began.
"That last delivery we saw behave quite uncharacteristically and in our minds we thought it behaved dangerously so that was the reason for coming off," he told Seven, reported ESPN Cricinfo.
"When we initially started we saw the pitch, we had a good look at it, until you start playing on it sometimes these things don't present themselves. After the first few overs we were quite hopeful it was going to be okay but then it started to go south and that last one was enough for us to consider it dangerous."
Scorchers veteran Aaron Finch shared further insights, "Josh Inglis said it felt dangerous when he was batting. It's just bouncing ridiculously. If that's bouncing on line with someone's body or their head, then that could some real issues. It's hard to say [if it's too dangerous] when nobody's been hit but you don't want to wait for somebody to get seriously injured."

The delivery that promted

The chat about the pitch

Match got abandoned

Disappointing

Fans were unhappy

History created

Dangerous pitch

With the trophy

Not good

Its pathetic

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