Cricket legends air their wild conspiracy principle concerning the VERY controversial resolution that ripped off followers on the SCG
As the clouds gathered around The Sydney Cricket Ground on day one of the final Ashes Test, glum fans trudged their way out of the venue, feeling short-changed at having missed an afternoon of cricket.
While the annual debate around whether the fifth Test of the Aussie summer should be played in New South Wales has re-emerged, given yesterday’s weather, a conspiracy theory has begun to swirl after umpires called the players off the field for an early tea on Sunday.
Ominous-looking clouds swept their way over the SCG, with England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook both seen walking back into the dressing room at 2.50pm.
They would not return to the field until Monday morning, with umpires calling a premature halt to proceedings due to bad light.
A mere 45 overs were bowled during day one, with England finishing the day 211-3.
Many fans had stayed to see if the umpires would bring the players back onto the field, with no rain falling and the sun beginning to peer through the clouds. Some got fed up of waiting and left the ground, with the clouds later breaking to reveal glimpses of blue sky.
As the clouds gathered around The Sydney Cricket Ground on day one of the final Ashes Test, glum fans trudged their way out of the venue, feeling short-changed at having missed an afternoon of cricket
Umpires sent both sides in for an early tea at 2.50pm, but the players would not return to the pitch, despite there being only a speckling of rain
Others have argued that the opening day was curtailed in a bid to ensure the Test match went the distance, something that Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has since rubbished.
Fans with tickets to days three and four in both Perth and Melbourne were left gutted after both the opening Test and the Boxing Day match were wrapped up inside two days.
The financial costs of both matches are set to leave a major hole in Cricket Australia’s bank account, with reports from The Sydney Morning Herald claiming that the governing body is set to lose $25million in both tickets and broadcasting.
Now, several former cricket greats, including Jonathan Agnew and Michael Vaughan, have claimed that Cricket Australia is trying to prolong this Test for as long as possible.
‘There’s clearly a determination to make this game last as long as possible after what’s happened with the two-day fixtures,’ Agnew, who played for England between 1984 and 1985, said to ABC Sport.
‘It’s always the first day crowd that suffers because you can take the decision and somewhere like here, where you see very clearly the next four days it’s bright sunshine and 30 odd degrees.
‘You can play your extra time you can make it up as far as the match is concerned. That’s great for people who bought tickets for those days. Always bad news for the people who buy a first-day ticket because you don’t get your money.
Now, several former cricket greats, including Jonathan Agnew (right), claimed that cricket bosses had tried to prolong the first day of the Sydney Test match
They believe Cricket Australia are trying to recoup some earnings after the Melbourne and Perth Tests ended inside two days, leaving a huge hole in the governing body’s pocket
On the decision to curtail play just after tea on day one, Agnew added: ‘I felt very sorry for the spectators here yesterday. It felt like a deliberate ploy.
‘When we left here at 5.30 it was very light, but there wasn’t a groundsman in sight… it felt like if you had day one tickets you got the raw end of the deal.’
The decision to stop play can only be made by the umpires in consultation with the ICC’s match referee. It means Cricket Australia can’t weight in on the decision. However that didn’t stop the former cricketer’s from speculating.
After the pitch at the MCG was branded ‘unsatisfactory’ by the ICC, with grounds staff leaving 10mm of grass on that wicket, curators at the SCG have been under great pressure to get things right this week.
The wicket for the final Test has around 6mm of grass on it, and while the ball has bounced up a little at times on day two, the wicket has been very good and fair to both batters and bowlers.
Former England skipper noted this, adding that it was clear Cricket Australia were trying to keep this Test going for as long as possible.
‘I always look at Test match cricket, we do everything we can to get off the pitch,’ Vaughan said to BBC Sport.
‘And you know, if this was a T20 or 50-over game, they’d have been playing an hour and a half ago.
‘It’s very clear that this week we’ll be here for five days.
Michael Vaughan (pictured) echoed Agnew’s comments, adding that Sydney curators had prepared a good wicket for the match
Joe Root (pictured) and Brook would return to the field on Monday morning, with the former going to score a sensational 160
‘I think Cricket Australia, they need a little bit in the coffers and that’s what we’ve seen in the pitch.
‘The pitch is a good one, which is great.
‘But from what I’ve seen in terms of the rain, the light and the conditions in the last hour or so, I think we’ve probably seen off the kind of public who have paid their money in the ground today by a couple of hours, at least.’
Greenberg, though, admitted that the bad light in Sydney was infuriating.
‘There’s a lot of things I get frustrated with in cricket, bad light’s one of them,’ Greenberg said on SEN.
‘I caution those remarks against the remarks of players who said they couldn’t pick the ball up and it was really dark and those sorts of things. But I get frustrated that we don’t have a solution to this problem.’
Greenberg clarified the situation: ‘We sit under the ICC rules and guidelines so we have to respect that, but I do think we can use our voice to advocate for a change,’ Greenberg said.
‘Let’s show a little bit of willingness to see if we can be better at this.
‘I don’t have the answer for you this morning but what you can take from my comments is a desire to push at the global level of how we get better at these things. Because it felt like it wasn’t good enough (on day one).’
The CEO added: ‘Again, I preface that by saying it has to be safe for the players, clearly, but we’ve got big light towers here and we’ve got technology.
‘I’m sure there’s a way we can make our way through it.’
Todd Greenberg (pictured) has denied that Cricket Australia would have prolonged the first day of the Sydney Test
Root and Brook would return to the field on Monday morning with the former England skipper going on to hit his second century of the season, amassing an incredible 160 runs off 242 deliveries.
England wrapped up their first innings just after tea on day two.
The Bazballers would then struggle to remove the Aussie openers, with Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue all failing to bowl at the right length.
Ben Stokes would dismiss Jake Weatherald for lbw, before the England skipper feuded with Marnus Labuschagne, who later walked for 46.
Travis Head would score 91 runs by close of play on day two, with he and nightwatchman Michael Neser set to return to bat on Tuesday morning.
