Torrential rain in Brisbane for the first day of the third Test could leave Cricket Australia with a significant financial hit.
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On a frustrating day for players, officials and fans, just 13.2 overs were bowled for the day after India won the toss and sent Australia in, with the home side reaching 0/28.
It turns out, a minimum of 15 overs is required to prevent fans being eligible for a full refund on tickets, meaning Cricket Australia was 10 balls away from potentially saving itself more than $1 million in refunds.
“Play called off on Day 1 at the ‘Gabba. We had exactly 60 minutes of play, with 80 balls bowled,” renowned cricket statistician Ric Finlay tweeted.
“If another 10 balls had been bowled, the crowd would not have got the refund they are going to get.”
The first day of the Test match was declared a sellout, with 30,145 fans given as the official attendance.
But they were subjected to a largely miserable day, with a reported 40mm falling at the ground at one stage in just one hour.
The rain did not relent and despite some late optimism, play was finally called off at 4:15pm local time (5:15pm AEDT).
Weather permitting, the match will resume an hour early at 10:50am AEDT on Sunday, with mostly cloudy conditions and no rain the current prediction.
Saturday’s downpour turned the Gabba into a lake and had fans scrambling for umbrellas and ponchos.
The day began with India winning the toss and electing to field in a move that raised eyebrows among several legends of the game.
Despite the pitch being green, the ball did very little for the tourists as Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney ticked the scoreboard over.
Play was suspended after only 33 deliveries being bowled before the teams headed back out, but then came the worst of the weather.
“It’s just annoying for everyone isn’t it,” Brett Lee said on Fox Cricket.
Australia may have lost the coin toss, but the early signs pointed to it being the wrong decision from India.
In the opening five overs only one ball beat the outside edge as the red ball failed to move around in the gloomy conditions and on a green top pitch.
It led many to question if bowling first was indeed the correct decision from Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
CricViz’s Ben Jones wrote: “Day 1 statistically the best day to bat at the Gabba. Generally looks slow first day then quickens up – didn’t see anything in the first six overs here to suggest this is any different. India need to pitch it up and risk going for runs, otherwise it could be a long day.”
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan wrote: “Inside 4 overs and it looks like a lovely Toss to have lost.”
Pat Cummins’ team will be hoping for plenty of play in the coming days.
With the series tied 1-1 with three matches remaining, Australia needs to win the series outright to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
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