Pura Cup match abandonment

The Pura Cup match between the Cascade Tasmanian Tigers and the Western Warriors at Bellerive Oval has been abandoned at the lunch interval during the second days play.

The match was abandoned due to the wicket being declared unsafe for play as outlined in Clause 19 of the Pura Cup Playing Conditions, which pertains to clause 7.4 in the Rules of Cricket.

Captains, Jamie Cox and Justin Langer both expressed their grave concerns regarding safety to the Umpires at the completion of the morning session. The Umpires subsequently, following further lengthy discussions deemed the match abandoned as per the laws of cricket.

The points available in this game will be allocated subject to a full investigation being conducted by the Australian Cricket Board in conjunction with the Tasmanian Cricket Association.

The Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Cricket Association, David Johnston said, "This situation is regrettable and not good for Tasmanian or Australian cricket."

He added,"The TCA have not been happy with the standard of the wickets at Bellerive for some time. We have had discussions with the Clarence City Council who are in control of the playing surface and the curator regarding our concerns. The standard of wicket has not been great this season but they have not been deemed dangerous or unsafe."

"The TCA will be seeking the assistance of expert advice to be a part of a review to be held in the near future."

The ING Match due to be played on Sunday 9th February between the same two teams will go ahead as scheduled.

The wicket allocated to that fixture is a new one brought up from the wicket used in an ACB Cup match recently, which produced some exciting cricket and played well.