Afghanistan’s one-off Test against New Zealand could witness a total abandonment without a ball being bowled as play was called off for the fourth consecutive day due to rain in Greater Noida on Thursday.
Rain has lashed the region for the past two weeks and it was no different on Thursday when umpires called off play at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sport Complex. With more rain forecast for the rest of the week, the contest looks likely to become just the eighth test in Test history to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.
“There has been more than 1200 mm of rain over seven days. The scale of rainfall has made it absolutely impossible for cricket today. We are going to come back on day five just in case, but the reality is there will be absolutely no prospect of play. We can’t envisage anything else but an abandonment very early tomorrow morning,” the broadcaster said as the fourth day’s play was abandoned.
This is Afghanistan’s 10th Test match since they were given Full Member status in 2017. For New Zealand, the one-off Test marks the start of their subcontinent expedition which includes two Tests in Sri Lanka followed by three in India. Unlike those five fixtures, the one against Afghanistan is not part of the World Test Championship.
Match referee Javagal Srinath’s report to the International Cricket Council (ICC) will determine if the venue would incur any sanctions from the governing body.