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In short:
The BBL match between the Melbourne Renegades and the Perth Scorchers was played on an uneven surface.
The players said the match went smoothly without any imbalance, but BBL boss Alistair Dobson said he was “disappointed”.
What’s next?
Dobson said a bad situation could lead to schedule changes.
Cricket Australia (CA) has admitted it will consider not using Docklands Stadium in future BBL seasons until late summer after it “underperformed”.
Melbourne Renegades players were left to defend after their win over Perth on Monday night, but the performance on the pitch was patchy and well below par.
“If you look at the outfield, they are quite uneven but it has been similar over the last few years,” said Tom Rogers, the Rebels’ fast bowler and man of the match, in an interview with Fox Cricket. “Man of the match, Rebels’ fast bowler and man of the match, Tom Rogers, had a record of 3-22.
“Actually, as a player, moving underfoot, it’s so solid you don’t notice much of a difference.”
Sutherland told Seven Network: “To be honest, the situation is better than it looks, we haven’t had any malicious attacks, so we are grateful for that.
The roof of the stadium was closed for two days due to wet weather, which made batting difficult and the Scots struggled to score early.
The problems come two days after a similar issue at Sydney Exhibition Centre, where large swathes of land were left without turf during the Sydney Smash Games.
Both venues are multi-purpose venues, with Pearl Jam concerts being the focal point of a range of events during the AFL and BBL seasons.
Last Wednesday, ahead of Monday’s game, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) held its annual graduation ceremony in the Docklands.
BBL boss Alistair Dobson admitted on Tuesday that he was “disappointed” and acknowledged that the pitch “did not perform well” and did not produce the best matches of the season for the BBL.
“Overall their fielding and wicketkeeping have been good, especially as the season progresses,” Dobson said on SEN.
“That (multi-use aspect) does involve some trade-offs, but we don’t expect it to be as significant as what we saw last night.”
Dobson said his organisation was willing to not schedule BBL matches in Docklands before January if better venue conditions could be secured.
But that raises further questions as the Melbourne Cricket Ground will also be offline before and during the Boxing Day Test match.
“Last night did give us cause to reflect on whether we should plan our trips differently in the future,” Dobson said.
“The trade-off, though, is that you’ll be playing a lot of BBL games in a short period of time.
“We have struck a balance between being optimally prepared and spacing out games so that fans have the opportunity to attend them.”
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Aside from player safety, another major concern is how the Exhibition Ground and Docklands outfield will present the BBL overseas.
CA hopes that BBL can become the second largest franchise league after IPL, with TV ratings and audience growth of nearly 30% this season.
But performance on the ground has yet to reach the same level, and officials are well aware that this does not reflect well on the situation.
However, Dobson rejected suggestions that the Renegades abandon Docklands and join the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG.
“There are two clubs in Melbourne with different identities, different fan bases and different histories,” Dobson said.
“The Melbourne Stars are an icon at the MCG and the Renegades are eager to make a mark on that.
“I don’t think it would be wise for Renegades or their opponents to push more games to the MCG.”
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