The first-ever Test match between New Zealand and Afghanistan has become a non-starter after the outfield at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex stadium in Greater Noida was damaged beyond recovery due to incessant rainfall.
Match officials conducted multiple inspections during three days, but the conditions were not fit enough for players to take the field and even the toss did not take place. There was no rain on the opening day (September 9), but the ground, lacking a modern drainage system, has has been impacted by heavy rain through the last week.
What were the issues with the venue?
Apart from overnight shower, rain did not affect the venue throughout the opening three days. But the absence of modern facilities left the inexperienced ground staff struggling to prepare the field as the sack of saw dust saw more action than the players on the opening three days.
Ahead of the Test, the ground staff had resorted to using table fans to dry the ground for Afghanistan's training sessions.
The mid-on and midwicket area remained a cause of concern as the groundsmen were bringing in dry patches of grass from the practice area.
The absence of modern facilities extended beyond the field itself, impacting operations off the pitch. The venue lacked a proper media centre and adequate seating arrangements for fans.
Additionally, the accredited media faced many hassles, including lack of water, power supply, and access to female washroom. The fans too had no idea what was going on as there was no public announcement system.
There was poor communication and complete mismanagement between the stadium authority and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
"This is a huge mess, we're never coming back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here," an ACB official said.
"We had spoken with the concerned people well in advance and were assured by the stadium guys that everything will be in order (pertaining to the media facilities)," he added,
While the Test is not a part of the World Test Championship, it is an ICC sanctioned Test match.
The stadium, managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, had hosted a pink ball Duleep Trophy match in 2016.
However, it had been banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in September 2017 due to match-fixing during corporate matches. No BCCI affiliated match has been hosted here since.
The stadium has served as the home ground for Afghanistan in the past.
"Nothing has changed since we came here. It's not improved one bit," another ACB official lamented.
Ahead of the Test, Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi had urged the BCCI and ACB to arrange "a good home venue" for the team
"India is our home, and when we host teams, other nations have played more cricket here," Shahidi said on the eve of the one-off Test against New Zealand.
"Hopefully, we'll get a good venue here in India and if we restrict ourselves to one venue, it'll be effective for us. Hopefully, the ACB and the BCCI will get us a good venue," he had said.
While the stadium doesn't fall under the UP Cricket Association, it will be interesting to see if BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla gets thing in order.
With DH Web Desk inputs