Unique drama happened in WBBL! The roller crushed the ball and the match had to be cancelled; Know what is the whole matter

By Samira Vishwas On Dec 6, 2025

In the 37th match of the Women’s Big Bash League 2025 played at the Karen Rolton Oval Stadium in Adelaide on Friday (5 November), such a scene was seen, which may have happened for the first time in the history of cricket. The match between Adelaide Strikers and Hobart Hurricanes was abandoned without a result due to a pothole on the pitch.

The incident occurred during the innings break, when the pitch was being smoothed with a roller. Meanwhile, a ball being used for warm-up went under the roller and due to heavy pressure, it sank into the pitch. The sinking of the ball created a round shaped crater on the pitch, making batting unsafe and uneven.

“During the innings break, the roller was playing and the warm-up ball went under him. This created such a big hole in the pitch that the conditions changed completely. Due to which, after discussions with the match referee, umpire and both captains, it was decided that it was not possible to continue the game,” an official WBBL statement read.

Before this incident, Adelaide Strikers batted brilliantly and scored 167 runs losing 4 wickets in 20 overs. Madeline Penna batted brilliantly and scored unbeaten 63* off 51 balls and remained at the crease throughout the innings. Apart from this, Bridget Patterson also played a fast inning of 24 runs (12 balls) in the end.

Nate Sciver-Brunt was the most economical in bowling for Hobart Hurricanes and took 1 wicket for just 22 runs in 4 overs.

After the cancellation of the match, Hobart Hurricanes remain on top in the points table with 15 points from 10 matches. At the same time, Adelaide Strikers is at 6th position with 9 points.