New Zealand and Afghanistan were supposed to play a one-off Test at Greater Noida, a venue which is not familiar to hosting international cricket and it seemed like it.
The game was called-off without a single ball bowled, even without a toss, the main reason was the rain, but poor facilities also played their part.
The first two days of the games were washed out due to the rain, but the rest of the days were called off due to the wet outfield as ground staff had to use table fans and cut dry patches to cover the pitch and of course it did not work out.
If anything, it frustrated the players and coaches alike as it was an important Test for New Zealand as they will be playing in Asian conditions facing Sri Lanka and India in the coming future.
“The most disappointing part for us is that we lost the opportunity to be match-hardened and match-ready when we go into our Test match next week,” said Gary Stead
“We were frustrated. We have come here to play cricket and play a Test match and as Jonathan [Trott] said, Test cricket, certainly to our group of players that is here, that’s very, very dear to their hearts and every Test you get to play in is a big one.”
“The conditions that we face in Galle will be, I’m sure, different to Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai when we come back here again [for the India tour]. So it’s still about adapting to the different surfaces.
“But also banking the knowledge you have created in the past even though it’s been a couple of [sessions of] training out there, we’d still bank on what we’ve learnt on those sorts of pitches.”
Afghanistan’s Test coach Jonathan Trott voiced the same concerns as Stead and said hopefully this will serve as a learning case for the future games.
“What I hope it is, it’s just a good learning case that things can crop up… everything has got to be checked out and made sure that it’s ready for Test-match cricket.
“And I think sometimes we take it for granted when we go and play, all these things that have already been done in the past for other nations or other venues – with regards to drainage or ground staff, all those sorts of things.”
“We’re disappointed. We’d geared ourselves up, and we’d trained really well,” Trott said in particular about the first two days. “So really disappointed. The thing was we got to train on the square [on] the days before, so we got to see the pitch. The guys were starting to get there; their appetite for the game was growing even more. So heartbreaking not to be able to play.
Afghanistan’s next assignment is an ODI series against South Africa, starting in five days in Sharjah meanwhile New Zealand will face Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series starting from 18th September. The series will be the part of the ongoing ICC Test Championship.
