‘Absolute joke’: Marvel Stadium’s ‘substandard’ surface slammed in BBL farce
Commentators were left astonished by a Big Bash sight, with the surface at the Melbourne ground slammed as an “absolute joke”
Cricket
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Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges has taken aim at the condition of Marvel Stadium, slamming the wicket and labelling the outfield “substandard”.
The Melbourne Renegades defeated the Scorchers by two wickets in the Big Bash on Monday night but it was overshadowed by scrutiny of the ground.
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The Scorchers lost the bat flip and were 4-35 in the first innings, forcing emerging star Cooper Connolly to play another brilliant hand (66 off 50 balls).
Voges felt the bat flip had a huge say on the result of the match and called the outfield aesthetically “poor”.
“Maybe the wicket dries out a bit, the roller goes on it, but clearly the wicket played differently in the second innings to what it did in the first,” Voges said.
“It’s a shame the bat flip had such an influence in the game but clearly it did in this fixture.
“I am not making excuses for the result but it was clearly a good bat flip to win.
“Clearly the outfield is substandard, the aesthetics of it is poor. I will have to check with the players as to how they felt running around on it.
“We rocked up and saw that … it is what it is, but when you combine that with the wicket, it’s been a tough night.”
Cricket Australia released a statement during the match following mass criticism of the conditions.
“The League and clubs work closely with all venues to ensure they meet all required standards, including outfields,” Cricket Australia said.
“There are many tenants and events at Marvel Stadium, with extensive foot traffic over the outfield in the period immediately prior to the BBL.
“As is standard procedure, match officials inspected the venue on Sunday. While there are bare patches on the outfield, it was deemed safe for play.
“Both teams also trained at the venue on Sunday. We anticipate the outfield will continue to improve ahead of the remaining BBL|14 matches at the venue.”
Voges said the Scorchers raised their concerns about the ground ahead of the match but were eventually OK to play if the BBL deemed the ground safe.
“It’s hard to get anything done at short notice, we expressed our concerns before the game,” he said.
“Ultimately we were always OK to play the game if the BBL had decided the ground was fit for play.”
English import Jacob Bethell, who top scored for the Renegades with 30 from 22 balls, did not share Voges’ concern, deeming the wicket “fine”.
“When we batted I don’t think it played that badly,” he said.
“It played better in my mind than I went out there expecting, I was kind of expecting it to not be coming onto the bat … the wicket was fine.”
IMPORTS LEAD RENEGADES PAST SCORCHERS
The Melbourne Renegades’ imports took to the “embarrassing” Marvel Stadium conditions comfortably with a trio of matchwinning cameos on Monday night.
Tim Seifert (28), Jacob Bethell (30) and Laurie Evans (24) all adapted to the state of Marvel Stadium to lead the Melbourne Renegades to a two-wicket victory over the Perth Scorchers.
While the Renegades survived a late scare before reaching the target, the three internationals had brought the required rate below a run a ball by the time of their dismissals.
The surface’s patchy lines racing from end to end prompted mass criticism throughout the course of the match.
Australian great Lisa Sthalekar slammed the condition of Marvel Stadium on X, labelling it an “absolute joke”.
“Absolute joke. Embarrassing to have a professional T20 competition even on it!” she wrote.
It took just six overs for former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to see a lack of trust in the surface.
“One of the most important things in the field is being able to trust your feet and I think there’s a couple of spots on this field where you can’t trust your feet,” he said on Fox Cricket.
It’s understood the RMIT University graduation was recently held at Marvel Stadium and restricted the curators’ time to prepare the outfield to its capacity.
The stadium has also hosted four big concerts in the past few months, with Coldplay, Travis Scott, The Weeknd and Pearl Jam all performing since the end of the men’s AFL season.
Absolute joke. Embarrassing to have a professional T20 competition even on it!! https://t.co/WR3CjcY46K
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) December 23, 2024
The BBL deserves facilities that highlight the players skill, and allow franchises to entertain their fans. There are a few around the country that aren’t up to standard! #BBL14
— ben dunk (@bendunk51) December 23, 2024
Marvel Stadium has been a blight on the Big Bash since year 1. Cricket Australia needs to cease using it as a venue. Full stop.
— Daniel Harford (@HarfSerious) December 23, 2024
This surface at Marvel Stadium is totally unacceptable for local cricket. And and they’re trying to play professional cricket on it. #BBL14
— Adam White (@White_Adam) December 23, 2024
Despite the uneasy looking surface, the Renegades’ motorcycle show carried on as normal across the ground prior to the game and at the innings break.
It follows criticism of the Sydney Thunder’s home ground during Saturday’s Sydney Smash.
Rising star Cooper Connolly continued his terrific form in a losing cause, striking a clinical 66 from 50 deliveries and taking 1-17 off three overs.
Connolly adjusted to the outfield by taking to the skies, hitting six sixes to go with his one four.
The left-hander’s six tally, which was greater than the number of fours hit during the Scorchers’ entire innings, was highlighted by a pair of sixes over cover.Cricket Australia inspected and approved the Marvel Stadium surface ahead of its highly-criticised showing on Monday night.
The surface, particularly the outfield, was the cause of heavy scrutiny for the BBL match between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers.
A ball struck firmly through the field came to a near-complete stop while Perth Scorcher Keaton Jennings was run out after his bat caught in the ground.
WHY CRICKET AUSTRALIA APPROVED MARVEL STADIUM SURFACE
Cricket Australia inspected and approved the Marvel Stadium surface ahead of its highly-criticised showing on Monday night.
The surface, particularly the outfield, was the cause of heavy scrutiny for the BBL match between the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers.
A ball struck firmly through the field came to a near-complete stop while Perth Scorcher Keaton Jennings was run out after his bat caught in the ground.
Renegade Mackenzie Harvey also later appeared to be robbed of a second catch by the uneasy surface.
Cricket Australia said officials and both teams inspected the field of play on Sunday before the match on Monday.
“The League and clubs work closely with all venues to ensure they meet all required standards, including outfields,” a Cricket Australia statement said.
“There are many tenants and events at Marvel Stadium, with extensive foot traffic over the outfield in the period immediately prior to the BBL.
“As is standard procedure, match officials inspected the venue on Sunday. While there are bare patches on the outfield, it was deemed safe for play.
“Both teams also trained at the venue on Sunday. We anticipate the outfield will continue to improve ahead of the remaining BBL|14 matches at the venue.”
Marvel Stadium does not host another game until the Renegades welcome the Adelaide Strikers on January 2.
Originally published as ‘Absolute joke’: Marvel Stadium’s ‘substandard’ surface slammed in BBL farce
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