Australian greats have slammed the embarrassing WACA pitch fiasco

AUSTRALIA’S victory parade was nearly blown away at the WACA. A wet pitch fiasco delayed the start of play on day five leaving a bevvy of Australian legends aghast.

Wild weather at the WACA as groundsman gets wiped out.

THE farce that took over at the WACA on Monday has left a bevvy of Australian greats shaking their heads, with two of Western Australia’s favourite sons aghast at the embarrassing scenes.

The debacle started early on day five of play, when it became apparant that the heavy overnight rain head leaked through the covers and onto the pitch - leaving wet patches on the pitch on a good length.

It prompted Australian legend Shane Warne to suggest England had grounds to call for the match to be abandoned - given conditions had changed and the wicket had become even harder to bat on.

England coach Trevor Bayliss said his team would do as instructed by the umpires, but labelled the pitch “dangerous”.

Ground staff worked hard, using leaf blowers and heavy rollers in an attempt to dry the wicket out, and eventually players were able to finally make their way out into the middle in the early afternoon.

Soon enough it became clear that the wet patch was playing on England’s minds, with Jonny Bairstow bowled by Josh Hazlewood on a ball that kept lower than expected.

Legendary Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, a star for Western Australia in the 1990s and 2000s, predicted the debacle would have huge ramifications.

“There’s no way the pitch today is in the same condition as it was yesterday,” Gilchrist told BT Sport.

“We’re going to hear a lot more about this in the next few days.”

Champion quick Mitchell Johnson, another Western Australian star, said England would be upset by the decision - and that they had his sympathy.

He explained exactly why they had every reason to feel hard done by.

“England won’t be happy with it no matter what, I don’t think they’ll want to be playing on a wicket like that,” he told Fox Sports News.

England captain Joe Root (L) laughs while Australian captain Steve Smith (C) and former Australian cricketer Shane Warne look on during a pitch inspection.

“It just changes the conditions for a start. The wicket’s been dry throughout this whole Test match and we’ve seen cracks open up.

“What it does is when you get a little bit of moisture, a little bit of water there, it softens the wicket up.

“So in that particular area where it’s been wet, the guys have been touching it and it’s really spongy, so if the ball lands on that it’s going to take off, it will put a divot in the wicket, it will take off and be quite dangerous. It will pop up at that spot.”

Warne felt England captain Joe Root had genuine grounds to call for the match to be abandoned, while Michael Clarke expressed his disbelief on how the pitch could be exposed to bad weather.

“Maybe there is something there for play to be abandoned,” Warne told Channel Nine.

“I’d be kicking up a big stink if I was Joe Root.

“All I’m saying is that Joe Root could throw up an argument to say, ‘Has there been enough rain that’s got through the hessian, through the covers, that’s got onto the pitch and changed the nature of the pitch’.”

Clarke was appalled at how, given the level of professionalism in cricket in Australia, this could happen.

“Well you’d think these days, with how much money’s spent on the game, how have we got covers that can possibly have a hole in them or how water possibly seep through?” Clarke said on Channel 9’s commentary.

It was a question which was posed by many on Twitter, who pointed to the high-tech equipment used in England as an option that could’ve prevented the pitch being wet.

It was noted that for less than $14,000, a hover cover may have done the job.

The newer piece of machinery is common in the UK, where rain is a greater threat than at a venue like the WACA.

For 13,275 Aussie dollars the Waca could have purchased one of these pic.twitter.com/mSHzEUVlep

— Simon Wilde (@swildecricket) December 18, 2017

Johnson also noted the difference in approach to rain delays in both England and Australia.

“They’re so used to conditions of rain and they know how to deal with a lot better than here,” he said.

“I feel like the covers here are a little bit outdated and all over Australia to be honest. I feel there should be a better way with the technology that we have to cover wickets.”

The damage could’ve occured during the heavy rainfall and high winds early on Monday morning, when the covers were pulled off in a particularly strong blast - scattering ground staff.

That left the pitch covered simply by the lighter hessian cover, and could possibly have been the moment when the wet weather made its way onto the pitch.

Wild weather at the WACA as groundsman gets wiped out.

The WACA groundsman is sent flying by the runaway cover.

Originally published as Australian greats have slammed the embarrassing WACA pitch fiasco