Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Following the calling off of their One Day Cup match against the Knights due to an unsafe pitch at Willowmoore Park in Benoni, Titans coach Rob Walter said it was a sad day for cricket.
The match was abandoned after 19 overs as the Titans had struggled to 45 for three with Henry Davids (25), Heino Kuhn (5) and Theunis de Bruyn (8) all struck in their short stays at the wicket.
"It's sad for cricket. There are a decent number of people who came to watch the game," said Walter.
"It's hard to get people in to watch local cricket so this is the last thing you need."
Two weeks ago, the adjacent strip used for a domestic four-day match between the Titans and the Warriors produced an avalanche of runs with the hosts posting 539 for six declared in the first innings.
"The four day wicket was great, and a few days later this happens," Walter said.
"If we're affected from a points point of view that would be unfair. We just rocked up to play a game of cricket."
Match referee Barry Lambson said player safety was the most important factor in the decision to call off the match.
"The umpires feel it was too dangerous to play," he said.
"If the umpires feel it is not safe for play, they can call the game off and, after 19 overs the umpires met and decided this was the case."
The pitch did not appear to be unusual in colour, but there were uneven areas which produced inconsistent bounce.
"At times the ball kept low, and there were others where it jumped up," said Lambson.
"Primarily, the safety of the players is most important to the umpires. You don't want to wait for someone to get injured, so on the basis of that they had to call it off."
Lambson said he would submit a pitch report to Cricket SA and expected an inquiry to follow.
In such a case, CSA had a range of options available to deal with its findings on the pitch in question, including the deduction of points from the home team, the imposition of a fine not exceeding R150 000 or both.
In this case, the Knights will be awarded the four match points, Cricket South Africa have said in a statement.
The match was abandoned after 19 overs as the Titans had struggled to 45 for three with Henry Davids (25), Heino Kuhn (5) and Theunis de Bruyn (8) all struck in their short stays at the wicket.
"It's sad for cricket. There are a decent number of people who came to watch the game," said Walter.
"It's hard to get people in to watch local cricket so this is the last thing you need."
Two weeks ago, the adjacent strip used for a domestic four-day match between the Titans and the Warriors produced an avalanche of runs with the hosts posting 539 for six declared in the first innings.
"The four day wicket was great, and a few days later this happens," Walter said.
"If we're affected from a points point of view that would be unfair. We just rocked up to play a game of cricket."
Match referee Barry Lambson said player safety was the most important factor in the decision to call off the match.
"The umpires feel it was too dangerous to play," he said.
"If the umpires feel it is not safe for play, they can call the game off and, after 19 overs the umpires met and decided this was the case."
The pitch did not appear to be unusual in colour, but there were uneven areas which produced inconsistent bounce.
"At times the ball kept low, and there were others where it jumped up," said Lambson.
"Primarily, the safety of the players is most important to the umpires. You don't want to wait for someone to get injured, so on the basis of that they had to call it off."
Lambson said he would submit a pitch report to Cricket SA and expected an inquiry to follow.
In such a case, CSA had a range of options available to deal with its findings on the pitch in question, including the deduction of points from the home team, the imposition of a fine not exceeding R150 000 or both.
In this case, the Knights will be awarded the four match points, Cricket South Africa have said in a statement.
