{"id":358739,"date":"2024-01-09T22:45:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T23:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=358739"},"modified":"2024-01-10T01:01:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T01:01:40","slug":"players-hit-back-at-pontings-substandard-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=358739","title":{"rendered":"Players hit back at Ponting's 'substandard' claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comments from R\ufefficky Ponting<\/a> raised concerns about the future of the Sydney Showground as a permanent Big Bash<\/a> venue – but there's a glaring issue that has been pointed out by two experienced stars.<\/p>\n

Monday night's clash between the Thunder and Scorchers was another low-scoring contest, with former Test spinner Ashton Agar<\/a> returning incredible figures of 2-6 from his four overs, while young gun Tanveer Sangha \ufeffconceded just 14 runs for the Thunder.<\/p>\n

The ground, which is located in the heart of western Sydney, has been the home of the city's less-successful BBL franchise since 2015, with their long-term contract with the stadium set to expire at the end of next season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Origin gun snubs rivals to sign 'richest ever' Knights deal<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Jordan Thompson's hilarious plea to Benji Marshall<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Labuschagne endorses potential Smith move<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

However, the Showground has produced the lowest run-rate of any Big Bash ground on average over the years with just 7.76 runs scored per over, while the club's other home ground – Manuka Oval in Canberra – possesses the second-highest scoring rate.<\/p>\n

\"Cricket<\/p>\n

Ponting \ufeffdescribed the venue as "substandard"<\/a> during commentary this past week, while there has been criticism dating back as far as 2019 from Scorchers veteran Ashton Turner, who at the time described the wicket as "disappointing".<\/p>\n

But despite calls for a permanent move to Canberra or another venue in Sydney, Thunder captain Chris Green provided a defiant stance of their home and reiterated the franchise's commitment to growing the game in the west.<\/p>\n

"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," the skipper told AAP.<\/p>\n

"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.<\/p>\n

"This is better than a lot of wickets in the country. It's just about adapting to those conditions better … so I disagree with those comments.<\/p>\n

"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."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Green has been a benefactor of the slow turning wicket at Homebush, taking 71 wickets in the lime green colours and earning an international debut for Australia.<\/p>\n

While it's certainly not at the same level of the Sydney Cricket Ground in the east, which has hosted the Sixers since the tournament's inception, the Showground \ufeffis the only genuine option for the Thunder to host matches.<\/p>\n

Superior pitches such as Drummoyne Oval and Hurstville Oval have hosted domestic fixtures in the past, but the lack of spectator facilities would take away from the BBL's fan-friendly environment and in turn, would lead to a lack of financial income.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Accor Stadium – the original home turf of the Thunder – was widely criticised in the early seasons for drop-in pitches and lack of availability, with the franchise's only title coming after their move away from the 85,000-seat venue.<\/p>\n

The ground also had a staunch defender in Agar, who prompted the discussion with his eye-catching spell against the Thunder, who claimed that not every pitch can be the same and believes it presents a new challenge for teams to overcome.<\/p>\n

\"Australia's<\/p>\n

\ufeff"You want to see high scores and balls flying over the fence, but there's a lot to take away from games like that for guys who go overseas," the off-spinner said.<\/p>\n

"It's nice to have a conducive wicket (to spin). It's not often you get to bowl on those pitches, but you have to make them count when you do."<\/p>\n

While by no means does the Showground consistently produce a spectacle from a six-hitting and fast-scoring\ufeff perspective, there have also been very few concerns over the safety of the wicket, which makes any calls for the stadium to be abandoned for future BBL matches unfounded.<\/p>\n

"I think there were some unplayable deliveries out there … [there were] a few balls spinning sideways," Scorchers captain Aaron Hardie said on Monday.<\/p>\n

"I certainly don't think at any point it was dangerous, but certainly different to where we come from [in Perth]."<\/p>\n

With the Thunder sitting in seventh spot on the Big Bash ladder and just three matches remaining, Friday night's blockbuster against cross-town rivals the Sixers at the SCG looms as a must-win for Trevor Bayliss' side.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comments from R\ufefficky Ponting raised concerns about the future of the Sydney Showground as a permanent Big Bash venue – but there's a glaring issue […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":358457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358739"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358739"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358743,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358739\/revisions\/358743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/358457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}