Former NZ teammates clash over BBL fiasco
Former Black Caps teammates Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori clashed verbally after a Big Bash match between their sides was abandoned on Friday.
Vettori’s Brisbane Heat were struggling at 10-2 after three overs in their run chase when a power cut sent half of the Gabba, including two light towers, into darkness.
Bond’s Sydney Thunder had posted 186-4 in their innings, anchored by a maiden century for Shane Watson. With star Brisbane batsmen Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum already dismissed, the Thunder looked well on their way to claiming two competition points.
“It’s a bad look for the competition. There needs to be some reflection or review around unfair play and application of the rules around that,” Bond said, before indicating the Heat may protest the decision to split the points.
“We’ve been told we’ll play in wet weather and rain for as long as we can, that’s not deemed unsafe. Then we have a situation with a light tower out and it’s been handed off to the opposition [to make a call]. They [the Heat] obviously didn’t want to play because they were in a bit of crap, which is fair enough, we would’ve done the same.”
With no sign of the power returning, the frustrated Thunder coach offered to bowl only spinners in a last-ditch effort to continue. But it was refused by the Heat, with coach Daniel Vettori arguing he wanted consistent conditions and the umpires deeming the conditions unsafe for players and spectators.
“People want to see cricket, they don’t turn up here to see officials making phone calls and not having the nuts to make a decision,” said Bond.
Vettori argued people with an interest in the result shouldn’t be involved in the management of the game but did offer more sympathy for officials.
“You’ve got to cut them some slack,” he said. “A light tower went out on a city-wide grid. What are they supposed to do? The two independent officials deemed it not safe for conditions. We took the cues from the match referee and umpires.
“We can’t give them control most of the time and take it back when we want to. I’d like to think if we were in a similar situation [to the Thunder], we’d take a pragmatic position.”
Power returned to the ground four minutes after play was abandoned, leaving Bond adamant officials had missed a trick.