South Australia received a temporary reprieve to its nightmare start in its Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia at the WACA Ground, with the entire second day washed out.
The Redbacks trailed by 90 after a disastrous first day, but persistent thunderstorms throughout Tuesday meant play ended without a ball being bowled.
But the visitors still face a massive challenge to turn the match around on Wednesday and have any hope of earning their first outright victory of the season, with the Warriors remaining at 1 for 183 in the first innings in reply to SA's miserable first innings total of 93.
There was a brief reprieve late in the day when play was scheduled to commence at 5:00pm local time, but a heavy shower shortly before then ensured the day was abandoned.
WA coach Lachlan Stevens said his side could find it tougher at the crease due to the rain's effect on the playing conditions.
"That wicket is going to have greened up a little bit under those covers with the rain so batting won't be easy," he said.
"There's a chance it could be difficult and that's why you don't prescribe to the players about how they should play."
Stevens said it was frustrating that his side's quest for outright victory had been halted by the rain.
"We'd loved to have moved the game on and kept our momentum going," he said.
"We have lost momentum, but I don't think it will be a factor in terms of the whole game."
If the rain clears, Craig Simmons and in-form opener Wes Robinson will continue their unbeaten 113-run partnership on Wednesday.
Robinson will resume not out on 71, after reaching his sixth half-century from his last six domestic innings, while Simmons is unbeaten on 52.
The top-order pair will be looking for quick runs to put the Warriors on course for an outright victory which would consolidate their spot in the top two.
WA effectively took a stranglehold on the game after Michael Hogan ripped through the Redbacks' batting line-up with 5 for 24, the second best figures of his Shield career.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, perth-6000, wa, adelaide-5000, sa, australia First posted December 06, 2011 20:23:40
No comments:
Post a Comment