BBL carnage as wild weather causes SCG roof to fall apart in chaotic scenes

The Sydney Smash was abandoned due to rain but not before the extreme wind caused carnage at the iconic cricket ground.

Wild weather has seen the Sydney Smash fizzle without a whimper as the Sydney Sixers shared the points with cross-town rivals the Sydney Thunder in a washout at the SCG.

A feature of the BBL calendar, persistent showers put paid to an expected sellout and robbed fans of an opportunity to see Sam Konstas and Steve Smith go head-to-head before heading to

Sri Lanka for the upcoming Test series.

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When showers halted play for the second time, the Thunder were 1/36 after 5.1 overs with Thunder skipper David Warner unbeaten on 22 from 14 balls.

With no further play, the Sixers had done enough in the preliminary rounds to hold down second spot and secure two bites of the finals cherry.

The Sydney Smash has been abandoned due to rain but not before the extreme wind caused carnage. Image: X

Captain Moises Henriques can now start preparing the men in magenta for next Tuesday’s grand final qualifier against minor premiers, the Hurricanes, in Hobart.

In a consistent season, the Thunder can’t relinquish third spot and will look to extend their season when they host the knockout final at ENGIE Stadium on Wednesday.

Running into a howling southerly gusting up to 50 km/h, Sixers’ quick Jack Edwards had the difficult task of delivering the opening over to Thunder livewire Konstas.

In unusual scenes, the right-armer did what Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah couldn’t do in the recent Border–Gavaskar Trophy – pinning the opener to his crease with six dot balls.

Four balls later, showers halted proceedings, and in the rush to cover the pitch, several groundsmen were skittled when the wild elements lifted the main cover.

Edwards continued his dominance when he returned to knock over Konstas (9 off 14) with a pinpoint yorker in the fourth over.

There were only 31 balls bowled in the Sydney Smash due to wild weather. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Amid the delays, Warner opened his account with three boundaries off Hayden Kerr before dropping to one knee and launching Sean Abbott over the cover boundary.

But players and groundsmen weren’t the only ones to feel the pinch at a near inhospitable SCG.

Fans were evacuated from a bay at the northern end of the O’Reilly Stand after “vinyl soffit sheeting” from a panel on the underside of the roof was spotted flapping in the breeze 45 minutes before the scheduled start.

Eventually letting go, the floppy sheet – approximately 3m x 2m – was cleaned up by security with no fans placed at risk.

Originally published as BBL carnage as wild weather causes SCG roof to fall apart in chaotic scenes