AUSTRALIAN SELECTORS AWAITING RESCUE AFTER SINKHOLE ACCIDENT

Geoff Stone

​Cricket Australia's panel of selectors has been caught in an unexpected sinkhole incident in the lead-up to the third Test in Adelaide this week.

The selectors, led by interim chairman Trevor Hohns, are awaiting rescue after a large excavation of mud resulted in their boardroom's floor collapsing. Hohns, along with Darren Lehmann, Mark Waugh and Greg Chappell, are said to have been involved in the relocation of several tons of wet dirt from near their selection headquarters, following on from work led by previous chairman Rod Marsh.

"Look, Rod had started implementing a sort of therapeutic ritual when thinking about his upcoming selections, and we thought we'd give it a shot," said Hohns via telephone.

"What he would do is continually throw handful after handful of mud at a large section of wall that contained the faces and names of those players in selection contention. The idea being that you would tend to unknowingly throw the mud towards the players you subconsciously wanted to select, and once that player's face was completely covered by mud that had stuck to the wall, you knew they deserved selection.

"I guess today we just lost track of ourselves and were throwing mud at every part of the wall, just seeing where it would adhere. We didn't think about the structural integrity of the room and this is where we find ourselves, just hoping for the best."

Rescue efforts are expected to begin on Thursday, with it most likely known by the weekend if there is to be any hope. If by Monday there is no improvement, Cricket Australia are expected to begin construction of a replacement selection committee room directly on top of the existing selection room.

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