The Sheffield Shield game between Victoria and Western Australia at the MCG which was earlier suspended on Saturday due to a dangerous pitch has now been completely called off after further inspection by the umpires Philip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua.
Western Australia were 89-3 when the umpires decided to intervene after a delivery from Andrew Fekete hit Marcus Stoinis directly on the ribs and the batsman couldn’t do anything but reel in pain. After having a cautious word with the captains of both the teams, the umpires decided to call the play off after just 40 overs on the very first day of the four-day clash.
However, along with Stoinis, Shaun Marsh and Cameron Green also suffered hefty blows courtesy of MCG’s unpredictable pitch and Peter Siddle’s pace. The variable bounce was completely out of the ordinary and might have inflicted some huge damage on the batsmen if the play would have continued.
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The umpires, Gillespie and Joshua also requested the ground staff to roll the pitch to even out the surface, but it failed to bear any positive results. And after a thorough inspection on Sunday morning, the match was finally abandoned.
Dangerous Melbourne Pitch!!
— Mubin (@_Mubean__) December 7, 2019
Some blows taken by WA Batsmen 😬#SheffieldShield pic.twitter.com/RQ1oGEaXbs
There is still a ray of hope as the playing conditions under Cricket Australia allows for a reschedule of the abandoned match and if by any case that fails to happen, the points for the game will be split - three each - along with the average bonus points scored in the other two games taking place.
"We're very disappointed at today's play being abandoned in the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia," Peter Roach, Cricket Australia's head of cricket operations, said after the initial suspension on Saturday.
Here’s the MCG pitch deemed unsafe for play pic.twitter.com/yLl9GTBqnt
— Alister Nicholson (@AlisterNicho) December 7, 2019
Speaking about the upcoming Boxing Day Test at the MCG between Australia and New Zealand, Roach further added, “Matt Page and the MCG ground staff have more than two weeks to ensure the test surface, which is a different pitch strip to the one being used in this match, is of international standard.”
Feature image courtesy: AFP/ William West
