It was a frustrating day for the Greenvale Kangaroos as the sun shone but they were left on the sidelines in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition.
A sprinkler had been accidentally left on the pitch at Greenvale meaning when they came to the ground to face St Kilda for day two there was a wet pitch.
The plan was then to start the match at 1pm, a two hour delay, with the Saints to have 74 overs to bowl the Kangaroos out.
The umpires though decided the pitch was still too wet and called the game off, resulting in the teams sharing the points.
Kangaroos coaching director Ash Cavigan said he expected St Kilda would lodge a protest over the result.
He said they would fight it feeling like they could have played for a large part of the day.
“It was one of those days,” he said. “It’s quite disappointing to play when it was as hot as it was.
“It was one of the most bizzare days I’ve seen in cricket. We’re disappointed we didn’t get a start.”
Cavigan said they felt that they could have got on and played from 1pm, contrary to the umpires decision but said they do have a hard job.
He said once the match was called off they did centre square wicket practice.
It would have been a big task for the Kangaroos, who were resuming at 1-12 in reply to 5-405.
Cavigan said while they knew it would have been a massive challenge to get the runs, it was one they were keen to take on.
“We were keen to bat,” he said. “We have two more games left and it was a chance to bat in a way to put things in place even if we didn’t get the job done.
“It would have been a good lead-in for the Essendon game.”
Making Cavigan’s weekend more frustrating, their under-18s match in Casey had a delayed start after the pitch got wet as well over night.
The Kangaroos now face Essendon in a two-dayer and then Melbourne University in the final round in another two-dayer.
Essendon sits in 16th with just one win, like the Kangaroos, while Melbourne University is in 14th spot.
“We are really positive about it,” Cavigan said. “We are going to attack both games 100 per cent.
“We will be looking to win as hard as we have anything this season.”
In women’s premier cricket, the Kangaroos beat Box Hill in the premier seconds competition.
Box Hill made 8-184 from its overs, with Katarina Lavanda taking three wickets for the Kangaroos.
The Kangaroos made the runs with ease, finishing 4-188 with 10 overs to spare.
Bailey Hunt top scored with 57.
The Kangaroos sit sixth on the ladder, 18 points outside the top four.
