Wagga Cricket Ground is unlikely to be used in first grade finals action following concerns about the quality of the surface.
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Issues were again raised about the standard of the pitch after 25 wickets fell on the first day of the two-day clash between Wagga City and Wagga RSL on Saturday.
Wagga District Cricket Assocation president Eric Koetz revealed discussion of finals fixture venues occurred before the round 11 clash.
Instead McPherson Oval and Geoff Lawson Oval have been penciled in as the two semi-final venues for play on March 5 and 6.
“McPherson will definitely be one and in all likelihood it will be Geoff Lawson Oval for the other one," Koetz said.
“At our meeting last Monday night we went through the grounds and where we thought they were at based on feedback and umpires.
“All reports are McPherson is playing very well and the reports from second grade and junior rep stuff for Geoff Lawson have been very good.”
It will be the first time Geoff Lawson Oval, one of the three grounds at Bolton Park, will be used as a first grade venue this season.
It will be a big change for the association, who have played at least one first grade finals fixture at Wagga Cricket Ground for the five years.
Wagga RSL captain Todd Henderson said there were soft patches everywhere with thick, weedy grass in sections.
“It wasn’t ideal for a two-day match when you want teams to be batting 80 overs but there was so pretty ordinary cricket,” he said.
Wagga City captain Jon Nicoll didn’t think the pitch was up to standard.
“It was one of more bizzare cricket games I’ve had,” he said.
“We weren’t too hopeful of making too many on it.”
Koetz said it was “a concern to see ball dominant bat like that”.
It isn’t the first time Wagga Cricket Ground has been the source of controversy after a drawn out appeals process with Lake Albert and South Wagga when the pitch was left uncovered.
Robertson Oval is expected to host the preliminary final and grand final despite the NAB Challenge between Collingwood and North Melbourne on March 5.
The ground won’t be used in the final round of the regular season in order to be prepared for the AFL fixture.
However Koetz is confident the ground will be able to handle the switch back as long as the weather remains clear.
