3 minute read

Australia's cricketers are happy to leave concerns over Sydney's smoke haze to match officials in the third Test at the SCG.

Australia and New Zealand's Test cricketers are confident officials will act appropriately as Sydney's smoke pall threatens to impact the SCG series finale.

The second day of the Test - Saturday - is expected to be particularly concerning, with temperatures of around 45C expected in the west of the city and poor air quality predicted as over 100 bushfires burn in the NSW.

Smoke is treated like rain by match officials, with players able to come from the ground if the conditions become hazardous or visibility becomes a concern.

A Big Bash match was abandoned in Canberra on December 22 due to smoke, with players admitting to having trouble breathing.

A Sheffield Shield match at the SCG was also played in thick haze in early December, with those conditions labelled "shocking" and "toxic" by NSW spinner Stephen O'Keefe.

But Australian spinner Mitchell Swepson, who played in that match, said from his experience the smoke wouldn't have any serious impact on players.

"I think from seeing those photos it probably looked a little worse than what it was in the middle," Swepson said as the Australian team arrived in a smoky Sydney on Tuesday.

"We didn't have too many troubles seeing the ball out in the middle.

"We knew there was a meter there reading air quality and we just left it up to the people making that call.

"We never thought we should be coming off. There was never any talk about it among the players."

New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner wasn't concerned about the prospect of play being interrupted because of air quality or visibility.

"There's a bigger picture ... it's heartbreaking what's going on," Wagner said.

"It's just a Test match. If it does get affected ... we'll just handle it to the best of our ability."

Cricket Australia is in the midst of developing smoke protocols for future summers, in conjunction with the players' association.

For now, officials will rely on a mix of guidelines from the NSW state government, the Australian Institute of Sport and the ICC.

"Player safety is a big thing, and I'm sure match officials will have seen what happened in Canberra a few weeks ago and will put us in the best position," Test vice-captain Travis Head said.

"It's not a concern for me.

"It's probably more of a concern for people outside game of cricket. There are a lot more people affected than us.

"Our thoughts are with them."