The start of the third T20I between West Indies and India was bizarrely delayed due to the absence of a 30-yard circle at the Providence Stadium in Guyana today (August 8).

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West Indies won the toss and elected to bat in the third T20I after having won the first two. The start of the game, however, was delayed when the players walked out on the field, only to find that the 30-yard circle had not been marked out.

But Kyle Mayers and Brandon King, the West Indies openers, as well as the Indian fielders had to walk back inside and wait for a few minutes as the ground staff came rushing out with the markers to draw out the 30-yard circle. No overs were lost, though, as play resumed after a delay of around three to four minutes.

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“Someone had a late night,” quipped the television commentators.

Hardik Pandya opened the bowling for India, as he has been doing in this series, and bowled a similar outswinger first up to King which had resulted in his dismissal at the hands of cover in the second T20I. This time, however, he played it safely along the ground.

Article 28.7.3 of the ICC Men’s T20I Playing Conditions insists: “Two semi-circles shall be drawn on the field of play. The semi-circles shall have as their centre the middle stump at either end of the pitch. The radius of each of the semi-circles shall be 30 yards…”

R Ashwin reacted to the delay: “Unique delay! It’s not an easy place to tour for reasons like this. As a cricketer one has to be switched on all the time and always expect the unexpected.”

Ashwin had talked about the lack of proper infrastructure in West Indies cricket on his YouTube channel recently. Even Pandya had expressed concerns about how the basic travel arrangements done by the West Indies Cricket Board were not up to the mark in this series.

Related tags:

Hardik PandyaKyle MayersInternational CricketSeries EditorialWest Indies v India