Brendon McCullum calls Thunder's plea for points 'ridiculous'; former New Zealand cricketer hits back

It was definitely an awkward and unwanted result for the cricket fans when Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat had to share points for their BBL encounter on Thursday night. The cricket action had to be called off after one of the floodlights at the venue went off, and only three overs were bowled in the second innings of the game. As many know already, a minimum of five overs bowled during the second innings would have brought the DL method in the picture.

Since that was not the case, the points were shared. Soon after the game, the Sydney Thunder boss Lee Germon fumed at the Cricket Australia over the end result. He wrote a letter to the CA and demanded two points for his side. He remarked that it was the home team’s responsibility to provide floodlighting for the match, including a back-up power source.

His disappointment was certainly evident as the Thunder did believe they had a sound chance of winning the game. They had sent out Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn back in the dugout during the game and almost 170 runs were needed to win off 17 overs for the Heat.

McCullum responds

Absolutely miffed and amused at what the Thunder boss had written, Brendon McCullum took to Twitter to express his opinions on the issue. He simply called it a ‘ridiculous’ request. He cited that if ground conditions are to be taken take of before deciding the results, then the stadium should also have roof to ensure no matches are washed out.

“This is ridiculous. So @ThunderBBL you want points awarded on basis of ground standards? Where was the responsibility to provide a roof at Spotless Stadium when it pissed down with rain a week ago? Also, are you sure you were winning that game? …Craic on.,” Brendon McCullum wrote in his tweet.

Germon hits back

Lee Germon also hit back and told The Sun Herald that Brendon McCullum has every right to make his opinions public. However, they are least concerned about those. They just know that they have a strong case and want the CA to take a call on it.

“I’m aware of Brendon’s comments, he’s entitled to an opinion and he’s voiced it. We’ve done what we can in terms of following up what we believed were not the right decisions made at the venue – it’s not against the Brisbane Heat but their venue that should have provided what they provided,” Germon remarked.

“‘Baz’ can say what he likes. I didn’t quite understand his point [about a Spotless Stadium roof], but he’s free to make a point. We have a strong case, which is why we put the appeal forward. It’s in Cricket Australia’s hands. We’ve done all we can. We’ll wait to see what follow-up or determination there is from their perspective. I have no understanding of the timeline either,” he added further.

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