“Absolute snooze fest”: Paine slams Shield pitch as Vic v Tas plays out in dull draw

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has slammed the Junction Oval pitch which was prepared for the Victoria v Tasmania Sheffield Shield opener.

The match ended in a dull draw on Friday with the game nowhere near a result. Victoria made 9/428 declared in the first innings before Tassie answered with 9/527 declared overnight with one day remaining.

With a result out of the question, Victoria made their way to 2/120 before the captains shook hands to call the game off in a draw.

Four centuries were made across the match as well as four half-centuries and Paine thinks that the wicket favoured batters far too heavily.

He called for the square at the venue to be dug up as it plays nothing like a Test match wicket, adding that he couldn’t watch the contest given how boring it was with the bowlers out of the game.

“Can we just dig that square up and start again?” Paine asked on SEN Tassie.

“The pitch there is an absolute snooze fest. It’s nothing like Test cricket.

“It doesn’t spin, it doesn’t really bounce, it doesn’t move sideways and it doesn’t swing.”

“I don’t think we want Shield cricket to be played like that.

“I found it hard to watch, I can’t even turn it on and sit down for 10 minutes.

“The wicket, it’s a stinker.”

Victoria’s next home Sheffield Shield game comes at the MCG against New South Wales. The next Shield game to take place at the Junction Oval begins on November 15 against Western Australia.