The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand has been abandoned without a ball being bowled in Greater Noida. However, because of that, the New Zealand team didn’t have good practice as they will play all-important World Test Championship matches against Sri Lanka and India. And, coaches felt it was “frustrating” and “disappointing” as well.
“It’s frustrating for us,” Gary Stead, the New Zealand head coach, said in Greater Noida. “It was our first Test match against Afghanistan and we were really excited about that as well. They’ve been great competitors of ours over the last few World Cups as well. We’ve had some great games of cricket. For us, we have the World Test Championship just around the corner in Sri Lanka as well. So, the preparation towards that would have been really useful for us as well. And the most disappointing part for us is that we’ve lost that ability to be match-hardened and match-ready when we go into our Test match next week. It was an opportunity to play Afghanistan. It doesn’t come around that often. They have some unique bowlers in that as well. It’s always good to get your head around how you face them and the way they play is a little bit different to other countries.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan Trott, the Afghanistan coach, shared the same disappointment but opened up on player safety.
“There were a few things discussed but we looked at the ground today and it was never really going to be attainable, unfortunately,” Trott said when asked if a limited-overs game was part of the plan for the fifth and final day. “There’s obviously a huge desire to play cricket but the safety of the players – because New Zealand have got huge tours coming up – unfortunately, you’ve got to take that into account. So as much as we want to play cricket, we don’t want anything to go wrong. We have got an important ODI series against South Africa and a few more before the Champions Trophy.”
However, Trott said that the unfortunate situation at the venue took place due to unexpected weather. When the covers were finally pulled off on the fifth day morning, the match had been called off, as the pitch was wet as well.
“I think it’s a case of time of the year. To try and play a Test match this time of year is always tricky. The facilities… obviously disappointed that we haven’t been able to play and the amount of water that’s come down is unprecedented for this time of year or the last three days,” Trott said.
Stead added: “Yeah, look, I mean it’s worth noting, I think, it’s been 1200 millimetres of rain in the last week and even though it was fine for those two days, there were thunderstorms the nights before and the ground was just too soft and the umpires deemed that unfit to play on. So that’s, sort of, out of the players’ hands in a way as well.”
“The real sad thing is, I think, it was going to be a really good pitch and it would have been a good contest, which is a disappointing thing,” Trott said. “So, that’s the most disheartening thing, I suppose, for all of us.”
