TEAM boss Neil Middleditch admitted a hole in the Wimborne Road track had scuppered Poole Pirates’ attempts to stage their Elite League play-off semi-final second leg against King’s Lynn.

Tonight's Wimborne Road clash – due to be screened on Sky Sports – was postponed until Thursday due to the misgivings of riders over a hole between turns one and two.

Despite rain for much of the day, Pirates staff had worked tirelessly to prepare a suitable surface but beyond the scheduled 7.30pm start time, all 14 riders felt the track was unsafe.

Middleditch, whose team led 45-44 from last week’s first leg, told the Daily Echo: “The track was good up until 4pm but we had a heavy shower and the rain turned it into slop.

“They tried very hard to get it back. They bladed it off which Buster Chapman did to great effect at King’s Lynn (at a meeting against Poole in August), but we have a different sort of track here and the base broke up.

“We had our track relaid a couple of years ago and it’s not very deep. The blade went down too far, cut into the base and created a big hole on the racing line which was going to get bigger and bigger.

“It was not a decision that was taken lightly but all 14 riders agreed it wasn’t safe to race. At the end of the day, they are the ones that are putting their lives at risk. They made the decision, I’m just the mouthpiece.

“Turn one was going to be very dangerous with four riders side by side at speed in an Elite League semi-final.”

Middleditch admitted that in hindsight the fixture should have been postponed several hours earlier and said he felt sympathy for the thousands of supporters that had turned out.

He added: “I’m very disappointed and dare I say it, the meeting should have been called off at 4pm after the downpour.

“At this time of year nothing is going to dry. After about 2pm you can forget it. It has started to get cold and damp and with the additional rain we had, it was a no-brainer.

“We had a stadium full of people who went home disappointed and once again it was a classic case of British speedway shooting itself in the foot.”