GREATER NOIDA: Afghanistan’s one-off Test against New Zealand was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Friday after rain washed away the fifth and final day at the Greater Noida Stadium in India. The Test became the eighth match in the history of the format to be abandoned for all five days. The toss was delayed on the first and second day as the field was kept dry all day due to the lack of suitable facilities available for such a condition. The ground staff was unable to dry the field without modern facilities despite no rain in Noida all day. In that state, local men pulled up a tarp to cover areas of the pitch in anticipation of more rain, while others held electric fans over some of the worst wet spots on Tuesday. The ground staff also dug up a wet patch – in the dugout and mid-wicket area – and filled it with dry earth and fresh turf. In this regard, the venues were heavily criticized by the Afghanistan Cricket Board. A board official said: “We have raised concerns about these issues and they have assured us that these issues will be addressed.” The board further stated that this match is part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship and due to mismanagement, it has been decided that the team will not play any match at this venue in future. However, the ACB later changed its stance on selecting Noida as the venue. The decision appears to be aimed at maintaining cordial relations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), according to Indian media. “The venue has always been Afghanistan’s home. If we talk about 2016, we played matches here,” said one of the officials. After rain on the third, fourth and fifth days, the series was washed out without a single bowl being bowled.
