Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off Test Day 4 abandoned due to rain, likely to become 1st Test without any ball bowled in the 21st century
After three days of no play, Day 4 of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand has been abandoned due to rain as reported by ESPNcricinfo on Thursday, September 12. The Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground has been covered as it continued to rain amid the ongoing monsoon season in India.
The match is now on the verge of becoming the first-ever game to be abandoned without a ball being bowled in the 21st century. The last abandoned game due to rain also involved New Zealand. It was against India at Carisbrook, Dunedin in 1998. No Test in India has ever been abandoned without a ball being bowled.
According to BBC Weather, thundery showers and a gentle breeze are expected on Day 5. The temperature will hover around 25 to 27 degrees during the match hours.
While it has been raining for the last two days, no play was possible due to wet outfield on Days 1 and 2.
On the disappointment, Afghanistan international cricket manager Menhajuddin Raz clarified that the BCCI had offered them three venues but they chose Noida owing to transportation facility. He recently said (via NDTV):
“The BCCI offered us three venues – Kanpur, Bengaluru, and this one. We chose to play at Greater Noida as it was most convenient in terms of logistics. It was a two-hour drive from Delhi airport.”
“The venue has always been Afghanistan's home venue. If we talk about back from 2016, we have been playing games here,” he added.
List of Test matches abandoned due to rain, Afghanistan vs New Zealand likely to become eighth game
As per reports, seven games have been abandoned due to rain since 1938.
Test No: 34 – Australia vs England
25-08-1890: Old Trafford, Manchester Australia & England
Test No: 264 – Australia vs England
08-07-1938: Old Trafford, Manchester
Test No: 675 – Australia vs England
31-12-1970: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Test No: 675 – Australia vs England
31-12-1970: Melbourne Cricket Ground
Test No: 1140 – England vs West Indies
10-03-1990: Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana
Test No: 1434 – Pakistan vs Zimbabwe
17-12-1998 Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Test No: 1434 – New Zealand vs India
18-12-1998: Carisbrook, Dunedin