In an unusual turn of events, the Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Queensland carried on even though the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground was shrouded in a dangerous haze on Tuesday (December 10).

WATCH: Shield game suspended in Melbourne due to misbehaving track 

This crisis arose as high winds blew smoke from bushfires blazing along Australia's eastern coast into the country's biggest city, sending pollution levels soaring.

Such was the situation that the players from both sides were struggling with vision and breathing. In fact, medical staff were attending the cricketers in the middle regularly.

Commenting on the conditions, NSW spinner Steve O'Keefe compared it to “smoking 80 cigarettes a day”.

"The one thing they need to look at is the air-quality policy," O'Keefe said after the game. "That was shocking. I don't have kids, but if I did they'd be locked up inside, and if I was at home I wouldn't be training or playing in it.

"I tip my hat to Queensland because when you're behind in the game you've got a reason to whinge, but they got on with it.

"That air quality was shocking. The doctor was all over it and speaking to us about it, and the fact the game wasn't going to go all day was considered, but in the future they need to look at it because it's not healthy - it's toxic.

"For someone like me who smokes 40 a day, it's now smoking 80 cigarettes a day," he quipped. "That was far worse than (India). It got to the stage we weren't going to come off for quality, it was more about visibility. It was getting hard to pick the ball up. I'm sure they'll address it. It's a bit left field to have something as severe as this."

On the other hand, the hazy conditions reminded Queensland batsman Usman Khawaja of playing in India.

"When we arrived here this morning it reminded me of playing in India," he said. "It was just hard to breathe, there was a lot of smoke. I was only out there for about five overs but it just got stuck in your throat. I was actually surprised the bowlers were bowling for that long, I thought they would have taken out of it. It was bad but it wasn't unplayable."

(Inputs from CricketNext)