As his Sheffield Shield match took a dramatic turn, Marnus Labuschagne was criticised for not toughing out trying conditions.
Marnus Labuschagne has been caught up in a Sheffield Shield storm after a dodgy pitch delayed a mouth-watering duel for the last batting spot in Australia’s line-up for the Ashes.
South Australia won the toss and elected to field against Queensland on Day 1 of their Shield clash at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday but rain washed out the opening session and only 50 overs were bowled for the day, which ended in dramatic fashion.
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A damp patch on the pitch wreaked havoc for the batters, as balls reared up with a nasty amount of bounce and rocketed towards the batters’ heads.
Labuschagne, Australia’s Test No. 3, faced a barrage of tricky deliveries that landed in the damp section of the pitch and bounced up to his chin.
A regulation ball from South Australia’s Nathan McAndrew bounced up higher than unusual and hit Labuschagne hard on the glove, leaving him in pain and forcing him to drop his bat and shake his head in disapproval at the state of the wicket.
Several more delivers hit Labuschagne’s glove or the top of his bat, ballooning up in the air and only just avoiding Queensland’s fielders.
He was clearly unimpressed with the pitch and the opposing captains — South Australia’s Travis Head and Queensland’s Usman Khawaja — met with the umpires to discuss the pitch and it was decided play would abandoned for the day.
Match referee Steve Davis said the play was called off for the day due to a damp section on the pitch and ground staff would undertake remedial work with play to resume at 10am local time on Wednesday.
In unusual scenes, Labuschagne and his batting partner Bryce Street walked off the field, which didn’t sit well with one South Australian cricket great.
Paceman Chadd Sayers, who played one Test match for Australia in 2018, believed play should have continued and the batters should have toughed it out.
He tweeted: “So when bowlers think it’s too flat, they just walk off?”.
It was an intriguing end to the first day of a match that has been billed as a bat-off between Head and Khawaja for the No. 5 spot in Australia’s line-up for the Ashes.
But both players will have to wait at least another day to get their chance, with Queensland 1-87 at stumps.
Originally published as ‘Huge dramas’: Marnus Labuschagne under fire for Sheffield Shield act
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