Cricket, bat, ball, bat and ball (Photo: Shutterstock)
The one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was abandoned on Friday without a ball being bowled, marking only the eighth time in Test cricket history that such a situation has occurred.
The first two days of play were called off due to wet ground, raising major concerns over the readiness of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex. The remaining three days were called off due to persistent rain.
An inspection was carried out on Friday morning but with puddles of water still forming on uncovered sections of the outfield it was a foregone conclusion that the match would be abandoned without even the toss being made.
“It is still raining in Greater Noida and due to frequent rains, the match officials have cancelled the fifth and final day of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement.
Since 1890, only seven matches in Test cricket history have been abandoned without a single ball being bowled. The last time this happened was almost 26 years ago, in 1998. Incidentally, this was a match involving the Kiwis. They were scheduled to play India in Dunedin, New Zealand.
However, this is the first time such a thing has happened at a stadium in India. It had been raining non-stop for the past two weeks and the lack of facilities like proper covers to cover the pitch at the 30-yard circle, poor drainage, lack of trained ground staff and lack of super blowtorches caused maximum damage.
Despite bright sunshine on the first two days, play was not possible because referees cited “player safety” as a concern.
The middle of the field was a particular concern. To address the problem, groundskeepers brought in dry sections of grass from the practice area to “transplant” into the middle of the field.
While the BCCI tried to help by providing additional machinery and the Delhi and District Cricket Association and the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association helped, it was a little too late.
Afghanistan, who were granted Test status in 2017 and have played just nine red-ball internationals before this encounter, were the hosts.
It was the first time that Afghanistan, who do not usually play many Tests with big nations, had been scheduled to face New Zealand.
However, this match was not part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle. As for the stadium, match referee Javagal Srinath’s report on the preparation of the venue will go a long way in deciding its fate.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: September 13, 2024 | 10:28 am IS
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