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Organisers are yet to make an official call but Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell has all but given up hope on Saturday’s Australia-Bangladesh World Cup clash being played.
And Mitchell conceded even if they did get on the field for a reduced overs a side game, the Gabba’s famous bouncy deck would be slower and “underdone” due to wet weather.
The ICC said no decision would be made on the clash until Saturday despite the Gabba being inundated by heavy rain due to an approaching tropical cyclone.
Cyclone Marcia hit the central Queensland coast on Friday morning as a category five system but has since been downgraded as it moves down the coast.
There are no reserve days for pool matches but organisers are still holding out hope that the Gabba game – scheduled to start at 1330 AEDT – will get underway, even if it is reduced to the minimum 20-overs-a-side.
But Mitchell told AAP: “Obviously with the forecast of the cyclone moving down the coast it doesn’t look that great.
“You are always hopeful but it is not promising.”
Australia were hoping to unleash four quicks if a juicy Gabba deck was discovered under the covers on Saturday – but Mitchell was not so sure.
“Obviously the moisture would be building up but it may not be like that (bouncy). It may be a bit slower, a touch underdone maybe,” he said.
“Maybe four quicks would be an advantage but it’s hard to say until you pull off the covers.”
Mitchell said it could take hours to prepare the field – if the rain stopped.
“The way the system is tracking it will be north of Brisbane around lunch time tomorrow,” he said.
“And considering it is a wide system, it will be a long time to go until it eases.”
Australian captain Michael Clarke was still confident of playing due to the Gabba’s famous drainage.
“I have seen a number of times in my career when you look outside the window especially in Brisbane and it looks like you are not going to play and then an hour later you are on the field,” he said.
A washout will not derail Australia’s charge to the finals but may complicate their World Cup campaign.
If points are a split for a no result in Brisbane, there will be more pressure on Australia to defeat New Zealand in their next match in Auckland on February 28.
A loss would put them on course for a semi-final showdown with the highly fancied Kiwis at Eden Park on March 24.
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