Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting has sparked debate during a BBL commentary stint, suggesting the Sydney Thunder could be better off playing more games at Manuka Oval in Canberra.
The Thunder is in the final year of a deal to play two BBL games a season in Canberra, with the club, Cricket ACT and the ACT Government keen to extend the deal.
The suggestion from Ponting came after he labelled the pitch at the Thunder’s usual home ground at the Sydney Showground as “sub-standard as far as BBL wickets are concerned”.
The Sydney Showground pitch was a spin-friendly wicket, with even pace bowler AJ Tye extracting plenty of turn.
Sydney posted a modest total of 137/8 from their 20 overs, with Perth spinner Ashton Agar nearly unplayable, finishing with figures of 2/6 from his four overs.
BBL broadcasters, the Seven network, showed deliveries had an average spin of 3.9 degrees during the Scorchers’ bowling innings – well above the 2.2 degree average across all other games.
Given the low totals due to the difficult pitch, Ponting suggested that Canberra could be a better option to play their home games given the quality of the Manuka Oval pitch.
“It’s nothing about the actual stadium, I just think the wicket that we’re seeing tonight is substandard for BBL,” Ponting said on Channel 7.
“The problem I’ve got with it is that the Sydney Thunder have been a struggling team for the last few years, it’s fair to say that.
“How are you going to attract young players from around Australia or even overseas players to come and play at your club if they’re going to be batting on a wicket like that?
“The Thunder for years have talked about how much they love playing in Canberra, maybe that’s a solution. It’s a great venue, it’s always a very good wicket down there.”
Ponting’s suggestion of shifting the Thunder to Canberra was quickly shot down by their skipper Chris Green.
“We’re the Sydney Thunder, this is where we like to play. This is our home ground. This is where we’re from, the west of Sydney. I’d hate to see us move down (to Canberra) permanently,” Green said.
Green also defended the quality of the Sydney Showground wicket.
“This is better than a lot of wickets in the country. It’s just about adapting to those conditions better,” Green said on Monday.
