Former Australian captain Tim Paine has ripped into the SCG curators after 24 wickets fell on day three of this week’s Sheffield Shield clash between New South Wales and Tasmania in Sydney.
Chasing a target of 143 for victory, the Tigers were rolled for 68 in challenging conditions on Thursday, the team’s second-lowest score in Sheffield Shield history.
Tasmania lost 7-11 in a dramatic collapse, with Blues seamer Chris Tremain claiming 6-31 from ten overs. Earlier in the day, NSW was bowled out for 118 after losing 7-19.
In total, 24 wickets fell in 63 overs on day three as NSW secured a 74-run win, the team’s second Sheffield Shield victory of the season.
Divots and cracks had formed on the soft pitch, which caused uneven bounce and some unplayable deliveries, including Jackson Bird’s dismissal of Tasmania opener Caleb Jewell.
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24 wickets fall as SCG pitch plays funny | 00:58
“It was a fun game, but if you ask the batsmen it probably wasn’t,” said Tremain, who was later named player of the match.
“Games in fast forward are good to watch. The divots and cracks in the wickets probably meant one ball had your name on it.
“When you got your tail up, it stayed up. I don’t really care who gets the wickets, as long as we get them and get off the field.
“Lucky to get what I got I think.”
Tigers captain Jordan Silk, who was bowled for a golden duck in the second innings, confessed he believed the conditions unfairly favoured bowling.
“They were too good for us,” Silk said.
“We tried to score, and tried to keep their good ones out. Unfortunately there were too many good ones.”
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, this week’s Sheffield Shield match at the SCG was played on a new type of grass that grows at lower temperatures, but the pitch for the New Year’s Test against Pakistan will consist of traditional grass.
Paine, who represented Tasmania last season, voiced his frustration with the playing surface on Friday morning, labelling it an “absolute disgrace”.
“This is a Test venue in the strongest (cricket) state in the country and they rolled that up,” Paine told SEN Tassie.
“It’s embarrassing. The ball was seaming sideways, it was going up and down, it wasn’t fit for first-class cricket.
“That was a disgraceful wicket. 24 wickets in a day’s play … you don’t even see that in club cricket anymore.
“I could have bowled on that and taken wickets. It’s not good enough.
“That was below standard for grade cricket and this is meant to be the premiere first-class cricket competition in the world and that is meant to be one of the most iconic cricket venues of the 100 years and that’s what we’re getting served up.
“Not good enough.
“Players don’t mind if it’s staying low or it’s seaming or there’s a bit more bounce, but when you’ve got a combination of all three every over, it’s just ridiculous and I cannot get my head around how that could possibly happen at a venue like the SCG.”
Venues NSW released a statement to foxsports.com.au on Friday evening.
“We’re undertaking a review with our grounds team and will seek input from Cricket NSW and other experts,” the statement read.
“This will include pitch preparation where there is a short turnaround between matches, as there was with the WBBL double header on 26 November and the start of the NSW-Tasmania Sheffield Shield match on 28 November.”
The SCG will host next week’s Big Bash League match between the Sydney Sixers and the Melbourne Renegades on Friday, December 8, with the first ball scheduled for 7.15pm AEDT.
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