Karramomus and Mooroopna Haisman Shield clash abandoned after sprinkler trouble

One weekend prior, despite being bowled out for 140, Mooroopna still had ascendancy over Karramomus at the end of day one.

The Bloods were left scrambling at 6-51 on their home deck heading into the second day.

As the two sides rocked up to Vibert Reserve on Saturday morning, it was clear there was trouble brewing.

The sprinkler system had been left on overnight and had soaked the wicket, making it virtually unplayable.

Both sides and the umpires tried to formulate a plan to get some overs in with the second day’s play eventually beginning mid-afternoon.

However, after 4.1 overs of ducking, diving and blind guessing from the batters, it was obvious the pitch wasn’t safe to continue playing on and the game was called off and ended as no result.

Karramomus coach Steve Allen said the club was alerted to the condition of the pitch through a text message early on Saturday morning.

“It’s obviously not what you expect on a Saturday,” Allen said.

“The wicket was wet and on arrival, (the umpires) had a look and decided they would inspect it later on.

“The advice from the curator was to wait an hour, roll it and then wait another hour.

“It was hard underneath but the top of the wicket was tacky — it looked okay, but you could tell it was soft on top.”

After giving the pitch some time to dry, play commenced mid-afternoon, but it soon became apparent that conditions for the batters were potentially dangerous.

“They decided to get under way at about 2.30pm and it was plain after a couple overs that the ball was not behaving as it would normally,” Allen said.

“It was reeling off a good length and taking divots out of the wicket, I suppose the umpire had some concerns about the batters’ safety.

“There had been a couple balls that had hit and struck the batsmen.

“After a few overs (the umpires) deemed the pitch unsafe.”

Mooroopna playing coach Henry Barrow said the club was disappointed that something out of its control meant the match couldn’t go ahead.

“The pitch was soaking wet and when we went to go back on it was probably too unsafe to continue,” Barrow said.

“When you have rain or something-affected games against the lesser sides the (ladder) won’t look as good as if we had played.

“It was just one of those things, unfortunately.

“We still played some good cricket and we have some really talented young lads and there is a really positive sense around the club still.

“We now have the opportunity to be party-poopers for other teams.”

With the Australia Day bye this weekend, Mooroopna will play Katandra in a one-day match the following week, while Karramomus will face Shepparton Youth Club United.