Callum Ferguson reflects on Sydney Thunder’s BBL game being cancelled because of poor air quality

Callum Ferguson has softened his stance after cutting a furious figure when the umpires called off his side’s BBL game because of bushfire smoke.

Callum Ferguson was furious the Thunder were robbed of victory.

Sydney Thunder captain Callum Ferguson has admitted the umpires made the right decision to call off his side’s recent clash against the Adelaide Strikers, even if he was incensed by the decision at the time.

A visibly agitated Ferguson remonstrated with Paul Wilson but was unable to convince the official to stay on the ground with the Thunder so close to victory, prompting him to rip his gloves off and storm back towards the dressing room in a filthy mood.

Smoke from bushfires raging through areas near Canberra spread across Manuka Oval during the second innings of the Big Bash match and prompted the decision-makers to leave the field because of poor visibility and potential health risks associated with deteriorating air quality.

Chasing the Strikers’ 5/161, the Thunder were 1/40 and needed just four more runs with four balls remaining in the fifth over for the game to be official and to seal victory, but they fell agonisingly short when the umpires pulled the pin.

Knowing his side was so close to winning, Ferguson said he was arguing with the call because he couldn’t see how conditions had worsened from the start of the over — adamant the umpires should have waited an extra four deliveries before making a ruling.

“I just didn’t want us to be a pushover,” Ferguson told SEN Summer Breakfast.

“The umpires were taking us off on the back of poor visibility. At that stage I was trying to argue the case that things hadn’t really deteriorated from the start of the over.

“I could have understood if we were coming off at the start of the over due to health reasons or something of that nature or at the end of the over but generally you only come off the ground if things have deteriorated since the start of the over.

“That’s what historically, in games I’ve played in, the scenario has been so I was just questioning Blocker (Wilson) as politely as possible how things had gone in the last two balls.”

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Australian cricket has never encountered this sort of issue

Ferguson was caught up in the heat of the battle and was crushed not have been able to lead his team to a third consecutive victory to start the season.

“It was frustrating (not getting the win) at the time. It was a pretty high-pressure over … when you’re in the heat of the contest, you’re competing as hard as you possibly can on every ball,” Ferguson said.

“At the start of that over we needed four runs to be ahead of the rate and everyone knew that the smoke was coming in so it was a chance to be called off within a few overs.

“To have it called off with three or four balls left, you’re riding the wave of emotion and you’re right into the zone so I was a bit frustrated at the time.”

However, as Ferguson’s anger started to dissipate, the sheer amount of smoke blanketing the ground helped put things in perspective for the former Australian Test and ODI star.

“Once we got off the ground it really started to dawn on everyone just the amount of smoke that had come across and certainly it started to cross your mind to create that much smoke, just how much damage was being done by the fires and the people on the front lines that are fighting it,” Ferguson said.

“It really became a lot more about that and then the health of the players and certainly I think the right decision was made to get everyone out of the scenario.”