Pitch unfit: New Zealand tour match abandoned

New Zealand XI’s warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI was abandoned on Friday over a pitted and deteriorating pitch described as “rolled mud”, leaving the tourists searching for more practice ahead of next week’s opening Test.

Stumps were drawn by the umpires during the lunch interval on day two of the three-day game at Blacktown, Sydney, when the CA XI declared their record first innings at 503 for one.

The Black Caps had been due to bat in reply in their final build-up game ahead of the first Test against Australia, starting in Brisbane on November 5.

The highly unusual abandonment seriously disrupts New Zealand’s preparations for the Test series opener, with last-minute arrangements now being made to allow for extra practice.

Coach Mike Hesson slammed the Blacktown pitch in Sydney’s west as “rolled mud” and “a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing”.

“They’re unable to grow any grass here at this time of the year so it was basically like rolled mud with a little topping on it,” Hesson told reporters after the abandonment.

“As it dried it baked and bits started falling out of it. It was going to last for a period of time but when the second new ball came on last night, once you start taking hunks out of the surface that’s when it becomes unsuitable.

“We’ve just had two days here and haven’t gained a lot out of it from a preparation point of view other than time on our feet.

Cricket Australia said both teams had agreed to abandon the match because of the state of the pitch