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The Big Bash League has had no shortage of farcical moments across its 14 seasons, but the scenes which greeted the Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium on Monday evening are right near the top of the list.
Having hosted several concerts, including Coldplay, since the AFL season wrapped up, as well as university RMIT’s graduation ceremony only last week, the stadium’s surface was in notable disrepair before the match, with the turf notably uneven and bare patches scattered across the ground.
“Significant turf replacement before RMIT graduation here on December 18. Stadium comfortable it’s safe and stable, albeit acknowledge aesthetically it could be better,” ABC commentator Corbin Middlemas posted on X pre-match.
With the pitch also below standard, with the Scorchers taking 11 runs to score their first runs after being sent in to bat and losing New Zealand opener Finn Allen for a duck, the quality of the surface quickly became alarming.
One deflection into the outfield past Renegades wicketkeeper Tim Seifert slowed up alarmingly on a re-turfed patch of grass to turn a likely four into a three, while even worse, Scorcher Keaton Jennings was run out after his bat got stuck in the soft turf next to the wicket – though he would likely have been short even if his bat had slid properly.
Social media quickly lit up in universal condemnation of the conditions, with SEN and Sheffield Shield cricket commentator Adam White describing the surface as ‘totally unacceptable for local cricket’ in a post on X.
Former BBL star Ben Dunk was equally scathing, saying the competition ‘deserves facilities that highlight the players [sic] skill, and allow franchises to entertain their fans’.
Speaking on Fox Cricket as the Scorchers slumped to 4/35 at the start of the eighth over, former great Brad Haddin urged Cricket Australia to consider not scheduling matches at the venue until further into the season.
“Maybe it’s a conversation that you don’t play games here until later,” he said.
“Just have a look around the surface, they’ve tried their best. There’s patches in the ground that they’ve cut very short, and out square of the wicket where there hasn’t been anything, is quite good.
“But there’s a lot of inconsistencies around the outfield, which can be dangerous at times for players, especially moving laterally.
“One of the most important things in the field is being able to trust your feet, and I think there’s a couple of spots on this field where you just can’t trust your feet.”
“No doubt if you go there in the centre, you can see this ground has taken a pounding,” co-commentator and Indian legend Ravi Shastri added.
However, speaking to Fox, Scorchers star Jhye Richardson was more philosophical about the conditions – though notably, his call-up to the Australian Test squad meant he wasn’t in the Scorchers’ XI for the match.
“It’s obviously something that we have to adapt to – it is what it is,” Richardson said.
“Both teams play on it, and I guess the team that adapts the quickest… will probably come out on top.”
Remarkably, according to Fox Cricket reporter Drew Jones, the BBL are claiming the surface is ‘actually in better condition than this time last year’.
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