GEORGE DOBELL IN MELBOURNE: England's clash with Australia was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield, with England's skipper welcoming the focus on player safety
Jos Buttler had no complaints with the umpires after England's T20 World Cup match against Australia was abandoned due to an unfit outfield.
While the rain that has fallen upon Melbourne almost relentlessly in recent days did, finally, relent for a little while on Friday evening, it was too late to save the match. The umpires deemed the outfield unfit for cricket and the management of both sides agreed.
The 37,500 spectators, who had patiently waited more in hope than expectation, were to be disappointed.
"The umpires had some big concerns and I think rightly so," Buttler said. "The outfield was very wet and there were some areas in the 30 yard circle that were not fit to play. As much as we all want to play cricket, it has to be safe and it certainly wasn't that.
"Every bowler would have had concerns. Player safety is really important and it wasn't fit to play, whether it was Australia's bowlers or ours. The right call unfortunately was made. Common sense prevailed.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald [Paul Kane/Getty Images]
"Everyone was in agreement. It is frustrating, of course, when you are watching and thinking, 'It's not raining, why are you not playing?' but the playing surface was not safe. Player safety is paramount. Fast bowlers try to run up and hit the wicket and it wasn't safe to do that."
Andrew McDonald, the Australia coach, agreed. While he insisted his side were keen to play, he accepted it wasn't possible. He also defended the decision to schedule the game for the MCG. While the Marvel Stadium, just 2.5 miles away, had a roof and regularly schedules Big Bash games, McDonald argued that the MCG's history made it the preferable venue.
"Tonight was shaping up to be a blockbuster," McDonald said. "It was going to be a huge crowd. It's bitterly disappointing for the fans and players. I'm really surprised by the weather.
"Everyone likes to play at the MCG. You can't predict the weather but what you do know is in Melbourne, fans generally turn out and when it's England-Australia, there's probably no better place than you want to be playing.
"Whether we should play at stadiums with a roof on it, that's up the scheduling. It [the Marvel Stadium] is down the road, but it's not a purpose-built cricket venue. It's done alright for the BBL games, though."
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