Concerns grew after WA batsmen Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis were repeatedly hit while batting on the opening day of the four-day match.
Match referee Bob Parry said player welfare had to be "front of mind" after play was abandoned for the day in the Sheffield Shield clash between Victoria and Western Australia because of worries over a dangerous MCG pitch.
The issue was to do with an overly high moisture content which led to divots in the wicket, creating uneven bounce and concerns for the batsmen when they hardened under a baking sun. Curator Matt Page was given two hours to roll the pitch to eradicate the moisture on a sunny afternoon but play was officially abandoned at 4.03pm AEST. Play was scheduled to resume at 10am local time on Sunday.
Victorian captain Handscomb last week said it was unrealistic to expect the pitch to deteriorate, and urged Page to leave more grass on the wicket in a bid to enliven first-class matches.“[The] MCG pitch hasn’t deteriorated for 10 years. So I think we need to start making the game accelerate at the start of it, maybe make it a bit greener like it is in Hobart where the game accelerates at the start and then becomes a good batting wicket after that.
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