How do they decide it's unfit? Dangerous, inconsistent bounce?
I was there. 4 or 5 balls "popped" and rose up very sharply, Beard was hit on the hand and retired, McKeena fended one off his face and was caught and bowled. There was a sharp downpour which further livened up the pitch, and with the rain break it allowed Dunn and McKerr, to continue bowling for 19 overs continuously. They were a handful, and the Umpires decided to ring the ECB for advice. One of the Umpires was Harris who is listed in Playfair so not a novice, although no first class games to date. Probably the right decision, but none of the batters could be blamed for being dismissed on such a tricky surface.
I went before the storm this morning and a couple of balls flew through, but I agree the 2 early wickets were not lost through the pitch misbehaving.
I went to the Middlesex game just 2 weeks ago and the pitch was placid.
A potential fine and Surreys expenses will be coming our way.
That’s the reason we don’t have outgrounds anymore.
Sorry that is a ridiculous generalisation and conclusion.
I think the lack of a groundsman might be a better clue.
Ah Stewyy, I’ve missed your passive-aggressive responses. I think you know full well that we were denied a county championship because of the poor state of the pitch at Southchurch Park. Whether it was any worse than other grounds is debatable, but we have no more out grounds for the first team and that was an ongoing trend since the 1990s.
