Groundsman loses length on extra-long pitch

A Victorian Premier Cricket match between St Kilda and Footscray-Edgewater ended in farce on Saturday, after it was discovered that the pitch they were playing on was eight feet too long.

The true length of the strip at the Harry Trott Oval in Melbourne's Albert Park was only discovered after the match when the umpires ran a measuring tape over it.

Glenn Lalor, St Kilda's coach, admitted his team had had their doubts throughout the game.

"I bowled slow enough, mate. I didn't need an extra eight feet. I would have been bowling backwards,'' he told The Caulfield Glen Eira Leader.

"It's actually quite comical. Things make sense now. I thought we bowled too short and I think we bowled 27 wides. Whether the wides had anything to do with the length of the pitch, I don't know.

"It was bizarre. It wasn't until after the game that someone said, 'Was the pitch too long … it looks a bit long'. Then the umpires had a look and thought, 'Well, maybe'. Then they measured it with a tape measure. Yeah, eight feet too long.''

The wicket is prepared by a curation company on behalf of Cricket Victoria, who apologised to the clubs for the error.

"We pride ourselves on the high standards we set for our work and this indiscretion has and will no doubt dent our pride for some time,'' a spokesman said.

Footscray won the match by six wickets after chasing down St Kilda's total of 197, but not before two of their batsman, Matt Underwood and Dylan Kight, had been run out on the extra-long surface.