Finch left frustrated by soggy Napier

Australia captain Aaron Finch said his side was left frustrated by the slowest-draining ground he had come across after Thursday's second Chappell-Hadlee ODI match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to concerns over player safety at McLean Park in Napier.

Australia and New Zealand will now meet in Hamilton on Sunday to determine who will take home the trophy – currently held by the tourists – with the Black Caps leading the three-match series one-nil.

Quick single: Second ODI abandoned in Napier

After more than four-and-a-half hours of pitch inspections and ongoing discussions due to a sodden outfield following a rainy morning in the region, the contest was called off, leaving a restless but patient crowd with little choice but to make for the exits.

Making matters worse was the fact that there had been little to no rain from the scheduled 2pm starting time onwards. 

"It was quite a frustrating day," Finch said. "I thought when we turned up, it was obviously a bit soggy and a bit wet, but I thought we'd get a game in at some point.

"But obviously the conditions didn't improve a hell of a lot.

"There was a good handful (of particularly wet patches) but they were in really key spots – backward point, cover, square leg – those spots that are hot spots in the field

"Particularly in around the ring it was quite soggy and slippery.

"In Australia, all our AFL venues are very big draining grounds, they drain very quickly.

"I haven't seen it that slow (to drain) before, but like I said it was just a few key spots that were really wet.

"It was a bit frustrating to be fair – when you're standing around trying to get back into a series, trying to level it at one-all, it was a bit frustrating."

With the rain clearing at 2pm the umpires convened in the middle for the first of many assessments of the centre wicket, declaring that they would conduct another inspection at 3pm.

They then settled on a toss time of 4.15pm, with play to begin at 4.45pm – almost three hours after the scheduled beginning.

As both squads warmed up on the soggy outfield however, discussions continued between team and match officials, and respective coaches and captains, with the decision to start play at the revised time overturned due to concern over player safety.

The announcement was met with groans from a frustrated McLean Park crowd, who had sat through three earlier inspections from the match officials.

At 5.15pm, 15 minutes before a fourth scheduled inspection, the three match officials requested the groundsman use his super sopper over a couple of specific damp patches inside the 30m ring, but after further long-winded discussions between skippers Finch and Kane Williamson, it was agreed that a reinspection would take place at 6.30pm.

"Along with management, once we started warming up and realised around 4pm that it was a bit unsafe, we threw it over to the umpires from there," Finch continued.

"To be fair, (conditions) just didn't improve. I don't think the super sopper did a hell of a lot to be honest.

"When you're fielding in particular there's so much sideways movement, so much lateral stuff that when you're unsure of your footing and the ground's constantly moving underneath you – it's very easy for your feet to slip out from underneath you.

"And we don't have footy boots on for a start – they're pretty small spikes (on cricket shoes). That's a safety concern in itself, guys trying to move laterally with a moving ground.

"It's never going to be an ideal surface to play on, and with standing water there – if someone's diving they're just going to dig into the outfield."

For Finch and his side, the equation remains the same had they played and won tonight's abandoned fixture – win in Hamilton and retain the trophy. 

"It was a good opportunity to come here today and try and level the series then go to Hamilton and try to win the series," Finch added.

"But now it's still the same goal – we had to win two from two, now we just have to win one from one and try to tie the series up.

"We put ourselves in that situation by batting poorly in the first game and letting them off the hook with the ball at times as well.

"If we get our basics right, we can do that (level the series)."

Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket Chief Operating Officer Andrew Crummy was at a loss to explain the issue with the venue's drainage, adding there would be an independent review to establish what had gone wrong.

McLean Park's drainage has been an issue in the past, with two other ODIs in the past four years both abandoned without a ball bowled.

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The traditional rugby union venue is due to host another ODI between the Black Caps and South Africa on March 1.

"We're gutted for the fans of Hawkes Bay and Napier," Crummy said. "It's too early to say what's actually happened.

"Obviously we've had some rain today but not probably enough to cause the game to have to be abandoned, so we really need to have a look in to what's actually happened.

"We understand the training ground, (nearby) Nelson Park and other grounds are actually dry, so something's gone wrong here.

"We've spoken to council, they're assured us there'll be a full independent review as to what's happened … is there something gone wrong under the ground, is there something wrong with the structure under there? We just don't know at the moment so they'll complete that review and we'll assess from there."