NEWS
Follow UsThe sorry story of Greater Noida’s Test debut continued as Day 2 of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was also called off due to a wet outfield. Both days have been washed out with the toss yet to take place.
Notably, there has been no rain during the game time on both days. However, the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground has inadequate drainage, leaving wet patches in the in-field due to overnight showers, especially in the mid-wicket area. Day 1 was abandoned after six inspections. Day 2 suffered the same fate, with the umpires calling off the day’s play at around 3 PM local time.
On Day 2 (September 10), the New Zealand team arrived late at the venue for a training session. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan team, expecting no play, opted to stay at the hotel.
The venue has received flak for inadequate facilities both on and off the field. Despite the bright sunshine on both days and the diligent effort of the ground staff, the conditions remained unsafe for play. Ibrahim Zadran, among Afghanistan’s prime batters, was ruled out of the Test on the eve of the match due to an ankle sprain during a practice session.
On Day 2, the ground staff tried to alleviate the wet patches in the mid-wicket region by cutting dry grass from the practice facilities. However, their efforts went in vain, as the Test match is yet to see a ball being bowled. Table fans were also put to use. It was raining at the venue at the time of writing this which hints at another washout on Day 3 in a farcical arrangement for Test cricket.
Who is to be blamed? Reportedly, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) officials were miffed at the facilities in place (both on and off the field) and said they won’t return to the stadium.
On Day 2, however, they deemed the conditions to be unfortunate rather than mismanaged.
"We had a three-day game here with one of the local teams and faced no issues but the rain is something which is uncontrollable,” said Menhajuddin Naz, the international cricket manager at ACB.
Naz also informed that playing in Greater Noida was a logistical choice made by ACB itself. “The BCCI offered us three venues - this one, Kanpur and Bengaluru, but we chose Greater Noida as it was most convenient in terms of logistics. It was closer to Delhi and also connectivity from Kabul was better.
"This has always been our home venue. We have hosted teams like Zimbabwe, Ireland here since 2016. Recently, during our discussions with the BCCI, this ground was offered and this was the best logistical venue for us,” he said.
Reportedly, Afghanistan were also considering Dehradun and Lucknow for this Test but both cities are hosting their state T20 leagues.
"The issue cropped up due to heavy rains for the last few days. Also, it rained heavily last evening and it wasn’t looking good at all. Even if it would have been any other venue, they would have struggled to get it back on time,” Naz clarified.
Akbar Muhammad, ACB’s commercial head said, “We tried working on a solution to shift the game. We reached out to a few nearby venues and they all said that because of the same rain, they will not be able to prepare the venue in 24 hours."
Was the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, 40 km away from Noida, an option? The Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) finished the maiden season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) on September 8, a day before the Test match was scheduled to begin. Both teams are also scheduled to begin their next international assignment on September 18. New Zealand will start their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will be hosting South Africa for three ODIs in Sharjah, beginning on the same date, thus leaving only this window for the Test.
The stadium is managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) instead of a state association. It has hosted five ODIs and six T20Is as Afghanistan’s adopted home venue, the last of which was a tied T20I against Ireland in March 2020.
In December 2016, the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved the stadium to host international matches between Full Member nations. Prior to that, the stadium hosted the entirety of the 2016 Duleep Trophy (four first-class matches) which was played under lights with the pink ball. It remains the only occasion of it hosting red-ball cricket. In 2017, the venue was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for staging a private league with fixing allegations.
Given the forecast for the rest of the week and the drainage provision, the match could end without a ball being bowled
(Cover image credits: ACBofficials on X)
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
