JUST NOT CRICKET

KIWI CLASH DECLARED A FARCE

DEBATE raged on last night after farcical scenes in Sydney that resulted in the visiting Black Caps taking the extraordinary step of refusing to take further part in their pre-Test tour match, citing a crumbling pitch not up to first-class standard.

After hours of debate behind closed doors, officials agreed with captain Brendon McCullum’s complaints about unsafe conditions and the match was abandoned, with Cricket Australia scrambling to organise alternative arrangements for their guests.

The twitterverse was up in arms, labelling the “underground pitch” fiasco the new “underarm incident”, with opinion divided on who was to blame after the Kiwis packed up their kits without even facing a ball.

New Zealand now travel to Brisbane today with their first Test preparations shot, and will resume training at Allan Border Field tomorrow ahead of Thursday’s start at the Gabba – a venue where no overseas team have won since the 1980s.

Photos of the wicket at Blacktown Sports Park show that it was deteriorating markedly after four sessions of play, or as New Zealand coach Mike Hesson put it: “a jigsaw with about half the pieces missing”.

But up until the point when the Black Caps refused to bowl their quicks before dramatically refusing to come back out of their dressingroom and bat after lunch on day two, there didn’t appear to be too many demons in the wicket.

The Cricket Australia XI had declared their innings at 1-503 with Aaron Finch and Ryan Carters each posting double centuries.

It’s been suggested that from the moment the Black Caps laid eyes on the desolate surrounds of Rooty Hill they decided that the ground was going to do nothing for their preparations and desperately wanted to get on a plane to Brisbane as quickly as possible.

A dismayed Hesson denied his team arrived in Blacktown with anything but the best intentions and said his side wouldn’t hold grudges as they pack up and head for Brisbane.