What A Shambles

[sunny-dave]

It's bright sunshine in Manchester - a glorious September day.

There is a cricket ODI between England and the West Indies - what could be better - bliss indeed ...

... or at least it would be if they could actually play.

It rained overnight (in Manchester - no sugar Sherlock) - so the outfield is currently "too wet for play to begin for the foreseeable future".

Surely it's not [censored]ing rocket science to entirely cover the outfield if the rain looks to be bad enough to cause a problem?

My money is on them risking a start to a hit & giggle nonsense round about the point where they'd otherwise have to give the poor beggars who have bought (very expensive) tickets some sort of refund ... but then I'm a cynical old git.

grumpy dave

[albaqwerty]

couldn't they just pat the ball gently so as not to have anyone in the outfield?

(legs it xx)

[New Judge]

Victims of the idiocy of arranging a cricket match to be played in the north of England in the second half of September, I'm afraid.

[sunny-dave]

Apparently they asked the players to 'run a bit carefully' - understandably they were not keen ... a whole career could end in one slip/slide.

I don't blame the players at all - just the incompetent administrators and ground staff.

[sunny-dave]

Well yes, NJ, there is that too - the poor players at Durham the other night needed hot soup and hand warmers at the drinks interval.

[wolf63]

Can they not play indoors?

[douglas9401]

So this is literally 'just not cricket'? :-)

[gness]

Asking the players to run carefully shows the folk in charge (who won't be running in dangerous conditions) are aware of the danger so.....

Just before the no refund point, Dave....could you not get a clip board and a H&S badge and wander around the ground taking notes?... ;-)

[albaqwerty]

' just the incompetent administrators and ground staff.'

exactly Dave, do these folk not watch weather forecasts?

[sunny-dave]

I suspect they haven't got enough plastic sheets, alba - or enough ground staff to deploy them - which when you think that the ticket revenue from today alone is probably well over £1m is just a disgrace.

[albaqwerty]

that's some amount of money!!

No doubt, they'll say something about the soil not absorbing the rain etc.
Couldn't they use those giant squeegees?

[sunny-dave]

Bright sunshine still - no play still - inspection at 2pm - by which time absolutely naff all will have changed - it's 12C and dead calm, not 30C and a drying wind.

They ought to bite the bullet and call it off - or play now. Anything else just smacks of desperation to save making refunds.

[jno]

I don't know of any ground where they cover the outfield completely. How many plastic sheets would that involve? What they're more likely to do is drain the ground better, and I'm surprised that isn't the case here if they want to get international matches. Lord's, for instance, drains very quickly these days.

But it's an outdoor game, played in a country where it rains a lot, even in summer.

[sunny-dave]

Just heard that part of the problem at Old trafford is that they been using the playing area for concerts - and the trampling of audience feet has compacted the outfield and compromised the quick draining, sandy, underlayer - you could not make it up ...

[aelmpvw]

i thought going to a cricket match in manchester was code for a day at the old trafford bar