After two days of utter chaos and no play at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has finally answered the questions that were raised over the conduct of the first-ever Test match against New Zealand. Not a single ball could be bowled on the second day of the game with the match officials calling it off due to a wet outfield.
While there was no rain on the opening day, a heavy downpour on Monday evening affected the start of play on the following day, scheduled to commence 30 minutes prior to the usual start time of 10 am. The ground staff kept making efforts which eventually failed to convince the official to call for the toss.
The steps taken by the venue management to tackle the situation on both days hinted at their incapability to host Test cricket. However, the Afghanistan team officials defended the groundsmen and venue management and blamed the ‘Act of God’.
Addressing the media after the second day was called off, ACB’s International Cricket Manager Menhajuddin Raz said their plans to conduct the one-off Test were majorly marred by rain and not by any other factor.
“You’ve seen it. They are trying every way to get the ground ready. They’re trying the fans. They’re trying the soppers. They’re trying to actually remove the turf and replace it. They’re trying every solution, and we really appreciate them, really admire them. But like I said, it’s the time it takes, it takes everywhere,” Raz told the media.
Why ACB choose Greater Noida?
According to Raz, the BCCI gave multiple options to choose from and the ACB zeroed in on Greater Noida, considering the logistical benefits. Also, the venue had been Afghanistan’s home ground in the past so they didn’t delve much into the other two.
“The venue has always been in Afghanistan to venue. We have hosted Zimbabwe and Ireland here. It’s something which has recently been in discussions with BCCI and we have got a couple of options and one was the Greater Noida. We had the option of Kanpur and Bangalore.
“So, this was like one of the best logistically approached venues for us, which is just around 2-hour drive from Delhi airport. That’s the only reason which has been picked as the hosting option,” Raz added.
What’s up with the drainage system?
Technically if a ground cannot be prepared for a day’s play after a 30 t0 45-minute drizzling, then there have to be some serious issues with the drainage system. When asked if the ACB were not aware of that, the ACB couldn’t provide a convincing explanation but highlighted the efforts of the groundsman which aren’t yielding any productive results.
“It’s always something which plays its role when it comes to the venue. And what we had here is, we’ve got many of the facilities which are required to drain such rain. Like last night, if you would have witnessed, the rain which has happened here and then the level of work the ground staff has put together,” Raz said.
“So, it’s only a few patches which is stopping the game and it’s not getting ready for cricket and it’s not safe for the players. That’s what the umpire is thinking. Apart from that, it doesn’t seem to be a big or a huge problem,” he added.
Did the recce go wrong then?
The ACB officials denied the fact that their research work behind picking the venue had loopholes. Addressing this point,
“It’s part of the international standard. At least 3-4 months, even six months before, you make a recce of the venue. And then, you make sure everything is normal. But the whole issue came up from the heavy rain which has happened over the last two weeks or so. And then, last night, it wasn’t looking good at all,” Raz said.
“It’s not only us, you know, who does this recce. It’s the visiting team as well, their team and their player association team, they do the recce and everything was so good. We had a three-day game here with one of the local teams which went well. We didn’t face any issues. But, right when the rain started and all of this happened. That’s uncontrollable.
“So, it’s with the rain. The recce didn’t go wrong.”
‘Can’t host teams in our country’
Hosting teams in Afghanistan comes with a different set of challenges and that’s why the ACB has been seeking options beyond their borders. Since the ICC had already approved the Greater Noida Stadium in 2016, Afghanistan went with it.
“The venue is an international standard venue. It has hosted, around 12 games internationally. It’s not like something which has been just new or not a venue or not a standard to be hosting a test game. So, I don’t see any issue,” Raz said.
“Everyone is so disappointed with not getting a game. When it comes to the players, when it comes to us, when it comes to you guys when it comes to fans. So, every single person involved, with the game is disappointed when they’re not getting a game of cricket on the day first or so.
“In the current situation where we cannot host international teams in our own country due to those challenges. We really appreciate the BCCI supporting us, the ICC supporting us,” he added.
