sign of the times... shame, rupert, shame!

[Ken Gargett]

today is day one of the sheffield shield final - once one of the great events in aussie sport. 

it is being played in brizzy - granted a rain delay (good for qld) but if one checks out the courier mail, what info do we find?

one of the players hopes to design surf wear when he eventually retires. not a single mention i could find about the game, teams, delay, pitch, possible outcome, players (bar that piece of nonsense), anything. you can go back over time and see an occasional fluff piece but the courier mail has now given up on even covering it, it seems. 

i used to write for that paper and was quite proud of it (even if one day i did have to ring my editor and point out that they had actually put the wrong date on the front page - the response "oh bloody hell. not again").

now, what a disgrace. 

[JohnS]

They must of heard you Ken! This went up on their website about 10 minutes ago...

Sheffield Shield final reduced to a farce after light sprinkle ruins opening day’s play

Robert Craddock, The Courier-Mail

 

QUEENSLAND’s push to move all Sheffield Shield matches to Allan Border Field has hit a submerged log with the first day of the competition final abandoned in broad daylight.

In farcical scenes, only on few sprinkles of rain fell all day yet the unacceptably poor drainage at Border Field meant the ground had not recovered from a solid two weeks of rain for day one of the decider against Tasmania.

Hundreds of fans, many slapping on sunscreen, had made a gold coin donation to enter the ground but left disappointed after being teased by continual wicket inspections.

For a competition trying to squeeze some life out of a decider which does not have the lustre of bygone years, it was a sadly forgettable day.

  Drainage issue ruined the opening day of the Sheffield Shield final.

 

If the Gabba, itself an overrated venue, had not been booked for AFL duties there is every chance that not a ball would have been lost had the match been held there given the ground’s exceptional drainage through its sand base.

But Border Field, once used as a dump, tends to catch water like a spilt beer on a billiard table, a costly flaw for a ground so heavily used at the home of Cricket Australia’s training base.

Queensland coach Wade Seccombe denied the day made Queensland a laughing stock or that Tasmania deserved an apology.

  Queensland coach Wade Seccombe says the farcical scenes are not a good look for QLD cricket.

 

But he did concede “it is definitely not a good look for cricket or Queensland cricket.’’

“We have not had a drop of rain today and we are not on the paddock,’’ Seccombe said.

“You are probably as frustrated as we are because we want to get on the paddock.’’

“It has been like this for however long AB has been in this condition but what it does show was we are due for a bit of upgrade and that is what we are trying to push for.

“All day as you walk across the water is still coming up at that far end particularly now where the run-ups are. If they had tossed the coin quite possibly the bowling team could have been disadvantaged by hindering the bowlers ability to run in.’’

  A groundsman with his hands on his hips.

 

Queensland Cricket is hoping for government funding to support an upgrade of Border Field which will eventually allow all Sheffield Shield matches to be held there so the episode may become a catalyst for change.

It is clear if those funds don’t arrive — and the state government has been asleep at the wheel for stadium upgrades — Queensland will be taking a major risk to take matches to a ground with such substandard drainage which was put in place when cricket moved here two decades ago.

Despite losing a full day all but around 30 overs can be caught up over the last four days of the five-day decider so the time left is still longer than a traditional four-day Shield game.

Tasmanian coach Adam Griffith said his team was disappointed but said his team understood the reasons why the match could not start because the ground was in a “dangerous’’ state.

“We are not angry,’’ Griffith said. “The ground is still wet. The disappointing thing is how the ground stayed in this state.’

 

Source: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/cricket/sheffield-shield-final-reduced-to-a-farce-after-light-sprinkle-ruins-opening-days-play/news-story/4254456261280af02db455a1ce081b14

[Ken Gargett]

53 minutes ago, JohnS said:

They must of heard you Ken! This went up on their website about 10 minutes ago...

Sheffield Shield final reduced to a farce after light sprinkle ruins opening day’s play

Robert Craddock, The Courier-Mail

 

QUEENSLAND’s push to move all Sheffield Shield matches to Allan Border Field has hit a submerged log with the first day of the competition final abandoned in broad daylight.

In farcical scenes, only on few sprinkles of rain fell all day yet the unacceptably poor drainage at Border Field meant the ground had not recovered from a solid two weeks of rain for day one of the decider against Tasmania.

Hundreds of fans, many slapping on sunscreen, had made a gold coin donation to enter the ground but left disappointed after being teased by continual wicket inspections.

For a competition trying to squeeze some life out of a decider which does not have the lustre of bygone years, it was a sadly forgettable day.

  Drainage issue ruined the opening day of the Sheffield Shield final.

 

If the Gabba, itself an overrated venue, had not been booked for AFL duties there is every chance that not a ball would have been lost had the match been held there given the ground’s exceptional drainage through its sand base.

But Border Field, once used as a dump, tends to catch water like a spilt beer on a billiard table, a costly flaw for a ground so heavily used at the home of Cricket Australia’s training base.

Queensland coach Wade Seccombe denied the day made Queensland a laughing stock or that Tasmania deserved an apology.

  Queensland coach Wade Seccombe says the farcical scenes are not a good look for QLD cricket.

 

But he did concede “it is definitely not a good look for cricket or Queensland cricket.’’

“We have not had a drop of rain today and we are not on the paddock,’’ Seccombe said.

“You are probably as frustrated as we are because we want to get on the paddock.’’

“It has been like this for however long AB has been in this condition but what it does show was we are due for a bit of upgrade and that is what we are trying to push for.

“All day as you walk across the water is still coming up at that far end particularly now where the run-ups are. If they had tossed the coin quite possibly the bowling team could have been disadvantaged by hindering the bowlers ability to run in.’’

  A groundsman with his hands on his hips.

 

Queensland Cricket is hoping for government funding to support an upgrade of Border Field which will eventually allow all Sheffield Shield matches to be held there so the episode may become a catalyst for change.

It is clear if those funds don’t arrive — and the state government has been asleep at the wheel for stadium upgrades — Queensland will be taking a major risk to take matches to a ground with such substandard drainage which was put in place when cricket moved here two decades ago.

Despite losing a full day all but around 30 overs can be caught up over the last four days of the five-day decider so the time left is still longer than a traditional four-day Shield game.

Tasmanian coach Adam Griffith said his team was disappointed but said his team understood the reasons why the match could not start because the ground was in a “dangerous’’ state.

“We are not angry,’’ Griffith said. “The ground is still wet. The disappointing thing is how the ground stayed in this state.’

 

Source: http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/cricket/sheffield-shield-final-reduced-to-a-farce-after-light-sprinkle-ruins-opening-days-play/news-story/4254456261280af02db455a1ce081b14

ta John. rupert does need the occasional prod.