Melbourne [Australia], Dec 8 : The match between Victoria and Western Australia in the ongoing Sheffield Shield was abandoned on Sunday after the pitch was deemed as inappropriate.
“Captains of both sides Peter Handscomb (Victoria) and Shaun Marsh (Western Australia), umpires Phillip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua and match referee Bob Parry consulted with MCG operations and ground staff prior to the scheduled start of play on day two,” Cricket Australia (CA) said in an official statement.
“Then, a decision was taken that no further play would be possible in the match,” it added.
CA will now work with Cricket Victoria and the Western Australian Cricket Association to reschedule the match.
If no date can be found, each team will be awarded three points.
On Saturday, the day one of the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia was suspended after Marcus Stoinis taking a blow to his head.
Umpires Phillip Gillespie and Geoff Joshua asked ground staff to roll the pitch in the interests of player safety but following an inspection, the play was abandoned.
“We’re very disappointed at today’s play being abandoned in the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and Western Australia. But we also acknowledge that there have been two previous Shield matches at the MCG this season without incident,” CA’s Head of Cricket Operations, Peter Roach, had said.
“Matt Page and the 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. We will also work closely with MCG groundstaff in the lead up to the Test match,” he added.
Melbourne Cricket Ground is slated to host the second Test match between Australia and New Zealand. Cricket Australia has already said that they will work closely with MCG’s authorities to prepare an appropriate pitch.
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