Chris Green. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Chris Green, Sydney Thunder captain, defended their pitch at the home stadium in Sydney after Ricky Ponting labelled the Showground wicket as “substandard.” The controversy arose following Thunder’s seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Perth Scorchers in the ongoing Big Bash League on January 8. The wicket has been said to produce a slow, spinning track that has produced the lowest scoring rates in the tournament. Ashton Agar claimed two wickets and Thunders could score only 137 for 8. The Scorchers, on the other hand, chased down the below-par target with five balls to spare.
Ponting, who was part of the commentary for Seven during the game, highlighted Canberra should be named as Thunder’s permanent home stadium. Notably, two of Thunder’s home games in the ongoing BBL are at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Meanwhile, Green stated that they wanted to play in the western Sydney ground.
“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. I like staying at home, playing at home, having my family come and watch me play. This is our home base,” Green was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
The right-armer went on to dismiss the criticism that the Showground pitch had been a long-lasting issue. He claimed that it is always a matter of “to those conditions better.”
“This is better than a lot of wickets in the country. It’s just about adapting to those conditions better. We had a 200-game here last year [in the finals] and the rain ruined it. The Sixers game this year was a sellout, and the rain ruined it. If we scored 10 more runs or about five less wides tonight, it’s probably going down to the last ball which is an entertaining fixture. So I disagree with those comments. We can’t just roll out a belter of a wicket and have 220 plays 220, because that tests one side of skill – but this is another side of skill,” the 30-year-old added.