New Delhi:
The Sheffield Shield clash between Victoria and Western Australia was abandoned at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after several batsmen were hit by rising deliveries. The match is the last one at the MCG before the second Test between Australia and New Zealand on December 26, giving cricket officials plenty to think about. Cricket Australia said it would work closely with MCG staff to ensure the best possible track is prepared for Boxing Day. "We're very disappointed at today's play being abandoned. MCG groundstaff 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. We will seek to better understand the issues that resulted in variable bounce at the MCG on Saturday," Cricket Australia's head of cricket operations Peter Roach said, while noting that two previous Shield matches had been played at the MCG this season without incident.
The sequence began when Peter Siddle was bowling to Western Australia skipper Marsh. Siddle bowled a short ball on leg stump and it climbed up awkwardly to hit Marsh on the side of the helmet. Siddle continued to get deliveries rear up from the wicket and Marcus Stoinis was the next to feel the brunt. Another short ball climbed up from the good length area and struck Stoinis on the gloves. The batsman dropped his bat and went to square leg as he tried to recover. However, things became even worse for Stoinis as Andrew Fekete got a ball to jag back in sharply from a length to hit the batsman on the rib cage area. After several deliveries hit the Western Australia batsmen, the umpires came together and made the decision.
This development does not come as good news for the Melbourne Cricket Ground that is scheduled to hold the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand on December 26. In the 2017/18 Ashes contest against England, the MCG pitch was criticised for being lifeless and boring as the match was drawn. The ICC gave the Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch a poor rating for the Ashes test, giving Cricket Australia two weeks to respond to the criticism before determining a sanction.
Also Read | Melbourne Deck In Focus - Sheffield Shield Game Suspended Indefinitely Due To Dangerous Pitch
Players and commentators criticised the lifeless drop-in pitch used for the Boxing Day test between Australia and England in Melbourne, and International Cricket Council match referee Ranjan Madugalle followed up in his official report to the sport's governing body when he gave it a poor rating. It was the first Australian test venue to be rated with such a low rating. Under existing rules, the ICC sanction can range from an official warning to a fine.
