Cricket Australia’s Big Bash boss has admitted the umpires made two errors during Friday’s rain-affected WBBL contest between the Sydney Thunder between the Adelaide Strikers, declaring the match officials “should have seen the game out”.
Chasing a 46-run target in the shortened five-over contest, the Thunder were on the verge of sealing a crucial win at 0-43 in the third over when umpires called players off the field due to weather, denying the ladies in lime green a certain victory. Heavy rain hit the venue during the second over of the run chase, but the conditions had seemingly improved when the controversial call was made.
“There is not a drop of rain at the moment,” Channel 7 commentator Alister Nicholson said at the time.
“That game was within a whisker of being determined, the result was completely clear, and the Sydney Thunder have been robbed of victory.”
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Former Thunder captain Callum Ferguson added: “I’m absolutely blown away. It’s actually embarrassing for the game.”
Both teams were each awarded a point following the drawn contest, which left the Thunder sitting at seventh on the WBBL standings with three games to play.
Speaking on WBBL commentary on Sunday afternoon, Thunder General Manager Trent Copeland pointed out the Sydney-based club was now at risk of missing the finals, with the umpire’s decision also impacting the team’s net run rate.
“I was viewing it from home and watching on,” Copeland recalled.
“Firstly I was amazed the game even started … it was a great effort to get the game up.
“Everyone at that last moment … was just shocked. Everyone was a bit dumbfounded.
“I was sitting at home thinking to myself, ‘How have we got to here? Now that we’ve gotten to here, how is this the point that we’re going off?’
“Certainly from my point of view it was a disappointment. Maybe the game should have been called off an over earlier.
“Decisions were made to progress the game. It was deemed safe at that point (in the second over), and then we’ve progressed to a spinner in Amanda-Jade Wellington, and the ball potentially not being changed if it was a slippery ball. Just a few of those coping mechanisms with deteriorating conditions that weren’t addressed before an abandonment.
“And obviously the game could have been won the next ball, that was the real shame of it.”
He continued: “It’s got nothing to do with respecting an umpire’s decision in isolation. This is professional sport, it could affect finals.
“It also wipes the net run rate equation from the game.”
Speaking to Channel 7 on Sunday afternoon, Executive General Manager of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson revealed that post-game review found the umpires should have forced players off the field in the second over when the rain was at its heaviest. However, having decided to continue at that point, the umpires should have seen the game through to its inevitable conclusion.
“The safety of our players is always paramount,” Dobson said.
“Umpires are always advised to come off a ball early rather than a ball late, if that makes sense.
“On review, having conducted their post-game review … they probably should have come off earlier in the game when Darcie Brown was bowling the (second) over and the weather got pretty heavy.
“On reflection, that was the moment they probably should have come off.
“At that point, having committed to the game, the umpires have reviewed it and upon reflection should have seen the game out from there.”
He elaborated: “It was a challenging situation. Managing weather in a cricket game is not a black and white scenario, there’s a lot of subjectivity and analysis that the umpires have to do on the run.
“It was a tough, high-pressure situation on Friday night.They did a great job to get the game started
”But on review, we probably should have got the game finished.”
Dobson added that CA had not considered awarding the Thunder an additional point, but stopped short of ruling out the possibility of that happening.
The Thunder, who may now need to win each of their remaining three matches to qualify for the knockouts, will next face crosstown rivals the Sydney Sixers at North Sydney Oval on Sunday at 3.40pm AEDT.
