West Australian captain Adam Voges has slammed the condition of the pitch used in his side’s 85-run one-day loss to Tasmania in Burnie.
Twelve batsmen were bowled or out lbw as balls shot low on the West Park strip, the home side surviving 50 overs on it to make 8-192 before the Warriors were all out for just 107 in 36.3.
“I thought it was a pretty poor wicket to be honest,” Voges told reporters.
“Two balls bowled nearly hit the same area – one went through shoulder height, the next one hit off-stump halfway up.
“It’s tough work as a batter, that.”
Voges said taking the interstate one-day series to regional areas needed to be done better.
“I’m all for that but I think the standard of pitch needs to be better than that,” he said.
Strong winds also played havoc earlier on Saturday at the ground, which sits beside Bass Strait in the northern Tasmanian port town.
Bowlers aborted their run-ups and batsmen pulled away as winds which ripped the roofs off marquees around the ground made for tough conditions in the middle.
The Tigers slumped to 6-51 before a Tasmanian seventh-wicket partnership record of 114 between allrounders James Faulkner (66 and 4-32) and Evan Gulbis (57no and 4-36) ensured the home side posted a competitive total.
WA appeared to be making a good fist of their chase at 1-47 but collapsed, losing 5-6 in 19 balls to be reeling at 6-53, and couldn’t produce a rescue mission to rival the Tigers’.
“A few stayed low, a few jumped,” Gulbis said.
“You’ve just got to try your best and … you just hope that you hit the bat or, if it keeps low, it misses the stumps.”
Tasmania keep their faint final hopes alive with the bonus point win, joining Queensland on nine points but still well behind Victoria (19) and South Australia (18).
The loss ends WA’s campaign and comes after a crushing Sheffield Shield defeat in Hobart this week.
Voges warned his players had to show they could turn around a season that has already cost a captain and a coach.
“I’m sure it’s a big three months for a number of players in our group,” he said.
