The opening day of the Marsh Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland has been abandoned as Queensland continues to deal with the major flood event currently ongoing in the state’s south-east.
The match, which was due to commence on Wednesday morning, will now begin on the second day with play extended for the remaining three days in line with Cricket Australia’s first-class match conditions.
The opening day was unable to be postponed by 24 hours due to the Redbacks Marsh One-Day Cup match currently scheduled for next Tuesday in Sydney.
West End Redbacks Head Coach Jason Gillespie acknowledged the outstanding work of Gabba grounds staff in order to prepare the venue and extended his thoughts to all currently affected by the crisis.
“Given the current circumstances in Queensland, we fully support that the health and safety of all involved must be the top priority here.
“We acknowledge that this is an extremely difficult time for so many people around Queensland, and our thoughts remain firmly with all who are currently facing the effects of this crisis.
“We respect the decision of Cricket Australia to delay the start of the match and thank the Gabba grounds staff for their terrific efforts and hard work in preparing the venue this week.”
Newly appointed South Australian captain Henry Hunt will lead the side this week, with the 25-year-old selected as acting captain for the remainder of the domestic season while Travis Head and Alex Carey remain with the Australian squad in Pakistan.
Quicks Jordan Buckingham and Spencer Johnson have been added to the Redbacks extended squad, with both yet to make their first-class debut.
The playing XI will be finalised at the toss on Thursday morning. The match will be broadcast live via cricket.com.au and Kayo.
West End Redbacks Sheffield Shield squad:
Henry Hunt (c), Jordan Buckingham, Jake Carder, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, David Grant, Spencer Johnson, Jake Lehmann, Harry Nielsen (wk), Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Lloyd Pope, Liam Scott, Jake Weatherald.
