As the world of sport is thrown into chaos amid the coronavirus pandemic, there was reason for a few chuckles during the Australia v New Zealand ODI at the SCG.
It was a bizarre scene as Cricket Australia made the call late on Friday that no fans would be permitted to attend the one-day international as COVID-19 leads more and more sports to lockout supporters in a bid to stop the spread of the virus.
But without fans, it was a very unusual scenario for short format, big-hitting cricket.
Because no-one was in the stands to throw back the ball, there was a bigger delay after every boundary as players were forced to jump the fence and search for the Kookaburra themselves.
At one point they struggled to locate a boundary ball and needed the help of security and more players to locate it.
In addition to that, fist bumps and elbow taps replaced handshakes and high-fives, in keeping with the government's advice to limit contact with others.
"It was unique, something I haven't experienced before," captain Aaron Finch said.
"But I think all in all it was a pretty good result considering what has gone on around the world and sporting events being cancelled."
Australia were without quarantined quick Kane Richardson with a "mild sore throat", though he was subsequently cleared of contracting the virus.
Both captains still exchanged hand shakes at the toss, but interviews were done via the spidercam to ensure a two-metre buffer zone.
The home side went on to beat New Zealand by 71 runs behind closed doors at the SCG for Australia's first ODI win in six matches.
Finch (60) and David Warner (67) led Australia to 7-258 before Pat Cummins, Mitch Marsh and Zampa bowled them to victory.
Cummins finished with an impeccable 3-25 from his eight overs as he troubled the Black Caps with his pace and bounce, strangling them out of the Chappell-Hadlee series opener.
Mitch Marsh took 3-29 for his best return in four-and-a-half years, while Josh Hazlewood bagged 2-37 as New Zealand finished all out for 187.
Adam Zampa's wrong'un to dismiss Kane Williamson was a key highlight even if there was nobody there to witness it in person. The wrist spinner brought one back between the New Zealand captain's bat and pad to bowl him for 19 and in the process put a big dent in the Black Caps run chase.
Zampa later had Colin de Grandhomme caught on the long-on boundary for 25, exposing New Zealand's tail and ending any hope for the visitors.
His 2-50 continues a brilliant summer for the 27-year-old, who worked over Virat Kohli in India in January and is now easily Australia's first-choice spin bowler in white-ball cricket.
"He's getting better and better," captain Finch said.
"He is starting to understand his skills and plans a lot more now ... He is really clever with how he tried to set up batsmen.
"A lot of that comes down to the work he puts in. He's one of those guys who bowls for hours and he's starting to reap the rewards."
Marnus Labuschagne (56) also continued his golden summer, registering his eighth score over 50 in nine international innings on home soil.
He was again busy, with just 10 dot balls in his 52-ball knock as he regularly found ways to tick the strike over and find gaps in the field.
But there were still concerns for Australia at the finish as they only twice cleared the boundary and added just 64 in the final 10 overs.
Crowds will be banned from the next two games in the series in Sydney and Hobart, and doubt also remains over a tour of New Zealand later this month given the government's non-essential travel warning.
Australia's women's tour of South Africa for next week has also been suspended, making it the first major cricket series affected.
- with AAP
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/australia-v-new-zealand-odi-coronavirus-no-fans-at-scg/8ead13a4-8437-4bcd-b321-60790dda72dd
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