BREAKING NEWS: Big Bash cricket game in Canberra is abandoned due to thick smoke from bushfires affecting play
- Big Bash game in Canberra has been abandoned to thick smoke from bushfires
- Match was abandoned 4.2 overs into second innings of Adelaide-Sydney match
- Spectators put on face masks as the cloud of smoke shrouded the Manuka Oval
A Big Bash game in Canberra has been abandoned to thick smoke from bushfires covering the ground.
The match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Thunder was abandoned 4.2 overs into the Thunder’s run chase due to poor air quality and impaired vision.
Spectators put on face masks as the cloud of smoke – which is being belched into the air by four emergency level bushfires – shrouded the Manuka Oval as the Thunder chased down 161 runs.
A Big Bash game in Canberra has been abandoned to the thick smoke from bushfires covering the ground
Sydney Thunder were 40-1 in the fifth over when the contest was halted because of lack of visibility and poor air quality caused by smoke.
‘After a delay, officials deemed conditions were unsuitable for play to resume …’ BBL said in a statement.
Sydney captain Callum Ferguson was upset at being stranded four balls away from victory with his side already past the five-over target.
Umpire Paul Wilson said there was no way they could have gone ahead with the contest.
‘I understand that the Thunder have four balls to go. We can’t take that into consideration,’ Wilson told Fox Cricket after play was halted.
‘It’s about air quality. We would not have started (the match) like this.’
Sydney Thunder were 40-1 in the fifth over when the contest was halted because of lack of visibility and poor air quality caused by smoke (pictured Alex Hales of the Thunder leaves the field after play was suspended)
Umpire Paul Wilson said there was no way they could have gone ahead with the contest
Close to 100 fires were burning across Australia’s eastern state of New South Wales on Saturday of which six were characterised as ’emergency level’.
Earlier this month, players complained of ‘toxic’ conditions at the Sydney Cricket Ground during a Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Queensland which was blanketed in a smoky haze.
Australia’s sports federations were forced to postpone a number of youth matches across New South Wales two weeks ago.
Australia has been fighting wildfires for weeks, with blazes destroying more than 700 homes and nearly 1.2 million hectares of bushland.
Australia has been fighting wildfires for weeks, with blazes destroying more than 700 homes and nearly 1.2 million hectares of bushland