The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand in Greater Noida has been called off without a toss for the fourth day in a row.
This historic Test match, the first scheduled between these two sides, was meant to get underway at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium in Greater Noida on Monday, September 9.
But now, the fourth consecutive day of the match has been abandoned. After persistent rain throughout the night, the drainage facilities at the venue were unable to handle the deluge, and the decision was made as early as 9:15am to call off play.
With the weather forecast looking bleak for the fifth day as well, this match is now in danger of becoming only the eighth Test to be abandoned without a ball bowled. The last such instance came in December 1998, when the first Test between New Zealand and India in Dunedin was called off on the third day itself.
In this match, after rain hit the venue on the eve of day one, the toss and start of play were delayed, despite no rain falling during the match hours. The umpires conducted six pitch inspections on the day, before calling stumps at 4pm local time.
On day two, there was once again no rain during the match, but heavy showers for 90 minutes the previous evening had damaged the outfield. Along with table fans and covers, the ground staff resorted to digging up dry bits of the turf from the practice areas to fill in the wet spots.
The third day (Wednesday) saw play called off early, just like it has been on day four. The seemingly poor drainage facilities at the venue have led to widespread criticism of this stadium as the venue for the match.
The official line from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is that they were offered alternatives of Bengaluru and Kanpur, but chose Greater Noida for logistical reasons – its proximity to Delhi, which has good flight connectivity with Afghanistan's capital of Kabul.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
