Afghanistan vs New Zealand Only Test Highlights Day 3: Another day, another washout. For the third day in a row, play has been called off due to rain.
The start to the historic first ever Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand continues to be delayed after more overnight rain in Noida (Uttar Pradesh). The first two days of the contest were called off due to rain/unfit conditions with the ground staff resorting to desperate measures in vain to get the ground ready.
Not a single ball has been bowled in the first three two days and with a steady downpour on Tuesday evening also eliminating the chances of play on third day, match referee Javagal Srinath will have to assess the drainage conditions of the ground, which are not at par with other international venues.
There was bright sunshine across two days but one heavy spell of shower, in the preceding evening, was enough to play spoilsport. The absence of adequate super-sopper or enough ground cover to protect the outfield, or for that matter the lack of adequately trained ground staff, there are problems aplenty with this venue, which isn’t directly under the aegis of BCCI.
As per the ICC ‘Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process’ that came into effect in November 2023, “After each Match, the Match Referee (Srinath in this case) will complete a Pitch and Outfield Report Form and send it to the ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager.”
