Victorian pace bowler Peter Siddle admits his concern for the safety of the West Australian batsmen outweighed his desire to win the game.
This was during the Sheffield Shield clash between the two states at the MCG, which was called off after the pitch was deemed too dangerous.
WA batsmen were hit multiple times early on day one, including captain Shaun Marsh, who Siddle struck on the helmet.
The Victorian quick said the wicket looked normal when play got underway.
“It actually didn’t look any different to the wickets we have played on in the last two games here at the MCG. It looked very similar,” he said.
“We went and prepared how we normally would and if we won the toss we were always going to have a bowl and we did and we got the opportunity with the ball and things started to play a little differently than they had in the previous two.
“At the start it didn’t react too much differently than the other ones, the odd ball, but that can happen in any game, so I don’t think it was that big a difference.
“Then every now and again a ball would just react a little bit differently and it sort of took you by surprise a little bit.”
As the wicket condition worsened, Siddle said it started to play on his mind.
“All in all, for most of the time, it looked like an okay wicket, but as the sun dried out the wicket a little bit more and the ball started to quicken up a bit it started to react a little more dangerously,” he said.
“Once the batsmen had been hit a few times the umpires wanted to consult the players and it was probably Shaun Marsh the WA captain who had a couple of chats with the umpires and he was out there when a lot of it was happening and I happened to hit him a couple of times.
“If you’ve seen the footage, the two blokes I was hitting were my two good mates Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis and I think I was more concerned and making sure they were okay more than worrying about what the result was.
“It’s part of the game, as in bouncers, and I think we’ve got back to being comfortable with just playing the game and those things happen, but when it does happen a bit out of the ordinary, it does make you feel a little bit uncomfortable.”
The test series against New Zealand gets underway in Perth on Thursday and you can hear every ball live on 1116 SEN
Play has been suspended indefinitely at the MCG due to a dangerous pitch 😮
— #7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 7, 2019
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