It was supposed to be historic, but it turned out to be disappointing.
Disappointment and frustration went hand in hand at the Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium as the ‘historic’ one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was abandoned on Friday due to rain. Persistent rain and a wet outfield forced the match officials to call off all five days of the game. Even as the first two days saw the sun shining bright throughout the day, the heavy showers the previous evening didn’t even allow the toss to take place. However, the weather deteriorated from day three onwards, leaving no scope for the game to commence.
No action across all five days left the players and the venue management equally frustrated.
“It’s frustrating for us. It was our first test match against Afghanistan and we were 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,” Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach said while addressing the media after the game was abandoned on Day 5.
New Zealand head coach Garry Stead echoed the same emotions, saying that the one-off Test would have been an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Sri Lanka and then return to India.
“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. So that’s 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. But the guys are really disappointed,” Stead told the media.
“It was an opportunity to play Afghanistan. It doesn’t come around that often. They have some unique bowlers 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,” he added.
Gym Sessions, Hallway Cricket Kept Players Busy
Absolutely no play throughout the five days of the Test match is indeed frustrating. In such a situation, a coach’s job is to keep his players active. While the Afghans kept hitting the gym to be ready for the next series – against South Africa in UAE, the Black Caps played cricket in the hotel hallway.
“We tried getting a couple of gym sessions and making sure the players are really active and working hard. Nowadays modern players don’t need encouragement. They’re always in the gym and training,” Trott replied to a CricketNext query.
“We’ve got a one-day series coming up against South Africa. So, towards the end of these last couple of days, I’ve had an eye on that, making sure our players are ready for the next series. I think as a coach who was looking a little bit ahead perhaps in what you’re currently standing now. I want to make sure when we play South Africa, we’re ready in Dubai,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis played some hallway cricket in the hotel, especially to fine-tune their batting against spin.
“A lot of hallway cricket in the hotel. Lots of playing spin and things like that, similar to what Trott said, our guys have been in the gym and, and working away. I mean, this was the first of six Tests in Asia for us, three more in India and two in Sri Lanka,” Stead said.
“But that was the most disappointing part for us is that we’ve lost that, I guess the ability to be match-ready when we go into our Test match next week,” he added.
Need for one fixed venue
Ahead of the one-off Test, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had said that they need a better venue going forward, especially to host teams for red-ball games. Trott also agreed with his skipper, adding that being confined to one venue would help them acclimatise to the conditions better.
“I think if you have one fixed venue, then you can iron out the issues that arise. I think that’s always nice. But I think this is maybe a result of not having played a lot of Test cricket in the past and still trying to find a venue that we can use consistently.
“So, that would be nice. All I know is the players have worked hard and this has been something we’ve had on the FTP for a while and really looking forward to,” he added.
Re-match of the washed-out Test Match
On being asked if the coaches wanted a re-match of this abandoned Test, Stead said, “One soon,” and asked Trott if Afghanistan would like to come to New Zealand.
“I tell you what, New Zealand is the best tour in the world, so as long as it’s in Queensland,” Trott answered.
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