WA, Victoria split points after Shield pitch glitch

Victoria and Western Australia have had their recent Marsh Sheffield Shield fixture officially abandoned after no gap in the jam-packed summer schedule to replay the fixture could be found.

The game at the MCG was called off last Sunday due to "excessive variable bounce in the wicket" after WA's batsmen were struck in the head and body several times on Saturday.

Too much moisture had been left in the pitch and Victoria's fast bowlers created a series of divots in the first hour of play. When the pitch dried, those divots hardened and made the pitch unsafe to play first-class cricket on.

Victoria and Western Australia will receive a total of 4.64 points each for abandoned match; three points for the no-result, and 1.64 bonus points each, that number being the average of bonus points collected in the round’s other two completed matches.

The result leaves defending champions Victoria rooted to the bottom of the Shield table, languishing on 14.11 points and still without a win after six rounds.

Western Australia now sit second on 26.29 points behind the undefeated table-topping NSW Blues (40.35 points).

The full Marsh Sheffield Shield table can be viewed here.

Last weekend's abandonment was the first in Shield cricket since a game between NSW and Victoria at the SCG in 2015, after which the Vics – as the away team on that occasion – were awarded all six points for a 'win'.

That led to a tweak of playing conditions ahead of 2016-17 season to split points rather than reward the away team.

"The rule was introduced a couple of years ago to allow the umpires to make a decision without undue influence from the away team, (who know) if they don't play, they get six points," Peter Roach, Cricket Australia's Head of Cricket Operations, explained on Sunday.

"I think the rule stands up and is the right one."

Roach said CA had been unable to find a suitable window to reschedule the match.

"After carefully assessing all options, it was obvious that there is no reasonable opportunity for this match to be replayed in the current season," Roach said in a statement today.

"Any rescheduling would have included all teams having significantly shortened, and unreasonable, breaks in the post-Christmas Shield window. Most affected would have been Western Australia and Victoria that would have played five matches (and potentially the final), each with shortened breaks.

"Playing the match would also have compromised the preferred venue of the WACA due to their current schedule of matches post-Christmas."

Roach reiterated Cricket Australia’s confidence that the MCG would produce a quality pitch for the Boxing Day Test.

"The Boxing Day strip is different to the one used for this Shield game and preparations for the Test match are well under way,” he said.

"We have every confidence that the MCG groundstaff will learn from the experience of the Shield match and turn out an excellent pitch for Boxing Day."

Players have now broken from their state systems to join their KFC Big Bash League teams ahead of the season beginning next Tuesday, December 17. The BBL will run until February 8, with the Shield season scheduled to resume just six days after that on February 14.