SCG Shield clash abandoned

The Sheffield Shield match between NSW Blues and the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers has been abandoned.

Cricket Australia confirmed on Sunday that the match at the SCG had been called off due to unsafe conditions around the in-field, wicket square and bowler’s run-ups.

But SCG curator Tom Parker has defended the surface and believes the ground was ready to host play on Sunday.

Sydney had been drenched by heavy rain for most of the past week and the outfield had not recovered sufficiently from the downpour, according to match officials.

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A section of the centre wicket at the SCG // Getty

While the pitch was deemed suitable, the outfield and centre wicket area did not hold up after the rain.

Match referee Steve Bernard said the decision to abandon the game was taken after inspecting the ground on Sunday.

"A number of areas of the ground were unsafe and had not improved since the players were taken from the field on day two," Bernard said.

"The umpires (Simon Fry and Mike Graham-Smith) concluded that these areas would not improve significantly over the remainder of the match and would continue to pose a risk to the fielding team. 

"Player safety is paramount and it is with this in mind that they have made the difficult decision to abandon the remainder of this match."

But Parker didn't share the sentiments of the match officials and believes play could have easily resumed on Sunday.

"Before play this morning (Sunday), the ground was in the best condition that it had been all match," Parker said.

"Given that there was no rain overnight, it was absolutely ready to host a match today."

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The SCG has been drenched by rain this week // Getty

The abandoned Shield match comes just a week after the game between the touring New Zealanders and the CA XI in Blacktown was abandoned after just four sessions of play due to a dangerous wicket.

Play at the SCG had been abandoned in the early afternoon on Saturday over fears for player safety.

With NSW on 1-88 and Ed Cowan at the crease with Kurtis Patterson (29 not out), the umpires called an early end to proceedings.

The state of the field and persistent rain has restricted play to just 34.2 overs during the first two days.

Play was halted after several Victorian fielders, including Australia's T20 captain Aaron Finch, slipped over within a few overs of each other.

Finch appeared to be hobbling after digging into the ground at mid-off and making a large indentation in the turf, however his injury is not believed to be serious.

"There were a number of areas and most of the areas of real concern were close to the wicket, within 10 to 15 metres of the stumps," Bernard said.

"They were high-traffic areas around mid-off, mid-on, slips, short backward point, cover point.

"There were areas where the ground was moving. There's a lot of bare areas there. Even where it was turfed, the last two balls before the game was suspended yesterday was then Rob Quiney went down and then (Aaron Finch) went down a ball later.

"Both of them had skidded where there was turf, they still lost their footing and I went out and inspected the divots they had taken out which were a metre long."

Speaking on Saturday, Bushrangers coach David Saker said the surface posed a safety risk to players.

"The surrounds and the outfield are just not acceptable for first-class cricket," Saker told the ABC.

"It can be dangerous and it's just not good for cricket. The wicket has been fantastic, but the outfield is just not suitable for playing cricket.

"I think the umpires have made the right call. If players are in danger of getting injured you pretty much can't keep them out there."

Cricket Australia will conduct a review of proceedings on the match before allocation of points is made.