Brathwaite says outfield was unsafe, Dhoni says he’s played on worse

Problems with certain sections of the Central Broward Regional Park outfield, which West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite said were ‘unsafe’, was the deciding factor in calling off play in Sunday’s second T20I in Lauderhill. The India captain MS Dhoni had a slightly differing view and said he had played in worse conditions during his career.

Chasing a target of 144, India had reached 15 for 0 after two overs, but an intense 15-minute thunderstorm left huge puddles on the bowler’s run-up at the pavilion end of the ground. Another section on the edge of the 30-yard circle due west of the center of the pitch, a notoriously slow drying area due to an undulating ridge in that part of the field, also forced the hand of the match officials in calling off play, according to Brathwaite.

“There were about two or three,” Brathwaite said, when asked which areas of the field were a cause of concern. “Looking from the pavilion, the run-ups on that side and just beside the sponsor’s [painted ad on field] plus probably mid-on and then there was a little patch on the [west] side looking from the pavilion again.

“So in my opinion it was unsafe, and even if the run-ups were good and a guy hits a ball in the outfield in a fast-paced T20 game and he chases behind it and pulls something, that could be the end of a guy’s career. So not only will we want to play, we want the facilities and the atmosphere to be as safe for everyone’s career as possible. In my opinion, I don’t think it was and the umpires also made that decision as well.”

Contrary to Brathwaite’s assessment of conditions supporting the umpires’ decision to call off play, Dhoni hinted that he felt the outfield was safe enough that play could have continued. He said he had played in worse conditions during his career, citing the 2011 tour of England as an example.

“What the umpires told us, there was not adequate equipment over here and the condition of it was quite bad, so because the conditions wouldn’t improve we won’t be able to play a game,” Dhoni said. “That’s a call that the match officials have to make and as far as I’ve played close to 10 years of international cricket and frankly I’ve played under worse off conditions. …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com