Sydney Thunder want the points after lights out farce at the Gabba
Sydney Thunder are still fuming about their abandoned Big Bash game against the Brisbane Heat, calling the umpires weak for not restarting the game and asking Cricket Australia to award them full competition points.
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Furious Sydney Thunder boss Lee Germon has appealed to Cricket Australia to award his team full points for the victory they were denied after the farcical ending to Thursday night’s Big Bash match against the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba.
The Thunder were in complete control of the match after veteran opener Shane Watson smashed his first BBL century to lift his side to 4-186 and the Heat collapsed to 2-10 after three overs when half the stadium lights went out because of a power outage in the surrounding streets.
The match was eventually abandoned and declared a no result when Brisbane Heat coach Daniel Vettori rejected an offer from the Thunder to only bowl spinners to eliminate any safety concerns, prompting an unimpressed Thunder coach Shane Bond to describe the umpires as “weak”.
"They didn't make a decision, they fobbed it off to Brisbane and of course they were never going to play because they were in the crap,” Bond said.
"One of the big bug bears of the competition is the inconsistencies around rulings and decision making by the umpires and match referees.
Listen: Our latest Cricket Unfiltered podcast is all about the Big Bash, with former Australian women’s captain Lisa Lisa Sthalekar joining the Herald Sun’s Sam Landsberger to discuss the state of the men’s and women’s Big Bash Leagues.
"If we were in the same boat we wouldn't have played, I 100 per cent understand what Dan did but they (the umpires) didn't want to make a decision and for me, that's pretty weak.”
The teams were awarded one point each but Germon has asked Cricket Australia to award his team two points and the victory because the Heat should have done more to ensure the lights came back on.
“I have already made a phone call to Cricket Australia and I will be escalating that to Cricket Australia in terms of determining why this happened and what should be the outcome,” he said.
“I understand Brisbane Heat’s position and I couldn't say if we were in the same position that we wouldn't do the same so I think it would be a bit harsh to get onto Dan about that.
“The fact that there was no backup or auxiliary power system that was able to kick in, which in my understanding is a prerequisite of a top class stadium, so if this was to happen in the day night test which is next week or a World T20 semi final there’s going to be problems.
“My view is that we should get the points.”
Each team has to bat for a minimum of five overs to constitute a game but Germon said there were precedents for awarding victories to teams in matches that were abandoned early.
“The venue has a responsibility to present the stadium for play,” he said.
“This is different from pouring down with rain for three hours or 15 minutes, this is about a fit for purpose stadium needing to be provided and it wasn't obviously because the lights went out and there should be a backup system that enables play to carry on so in my view this is a different situation.
“In my view this is similar to a situation where matches have been abandoned due to the pitch not playing a way that umpires think it should be played and in those previous situation's points have been given to the away team.”
Cricket Australia released a statement on Friday offering ticketholders to the match complimentary tickets to one day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Gabba, starting on Thursday.
“The match officials assessed the situation including whether there was enough light for play to continue safely. A decision was reached that there was insufficient light for this to occur and subsequently play was abandoned and the points were split,” CA executive general manager of fan engagement Anthony Everard said.
Bond said that even with only half the lights on the stadium was still bright enough to play in so the game should have gone ahead, if only for the thousands fans who had bought tickets and stayed around play would resume, at one point even turning on the lights on their mobile phones in a bid to get the game restarted.
"People pay their hard-earned money to see cricket, and when there was the ability to see a game of cricket to the end, but to have it denied on what I thought was an inconsistent ruling around conditions, it's not a great look for the competition,” Bond said.
Vettori said he sympathised with the predicament the umpires were on and was adamant they made the right call not to restart the game.
"A light tower went out — what can you do? I'd like to think if we were in a similar situation that we'd take a pragmatic attitude to it,” he said.
"I feel sorry for the match officials, they're under the most pressure, the most scrutiny around what's going on.
"They used their discretion around what was right and what was wrong, and they stuck to their guns."
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