2024-09-13 20:44:29
Published: 19:20, 12 September 2024
The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was scheduled to begin on Monday (September 09) at the neutral venue Greater Noida Sports Complex Stadium. Although the fourth day of this historic test for Afghanistan has passed today, the game on the field has not been tossed yet.
Earlier, however, this happened in Test cricket. Where a ball did not roll on the field for the fourth consecutive day. A Test between India and South Africa in Bangalore in 2015 had such a fate. On the fourth day of the Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Dhaka’s Mirpur in the same year, the game could not be played on the field. Besides, in 2016, in a Test between West Indies and India, the game could not start even on the fourth day due to rain.
Noida is likely to experience day-long rains on Friday as well. In that case tomorrow the fifth day will also be washed away by rain. This Test will be abandoned without a single ball being bowled.
In the history of Test cricket, there are 7 instances of not even a ball being bowled on the field due to five consecutive days of rain. The first occurred in the 1890 Test between England and Australia. And the last one happened in 1998.
26 years ago i.e. in 1998 in Dunedin Test between India and New Zealand, no game could be played on the field even in five days. After 26 years, the Kiwis are going to have such luck again. This time their partner is Afghanistan, another country in Asia.
In addition, in 1998, all five days of the Test between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Faisalabad were washed away by rain. In the Guyana Test between West Indies and England in 1990, not a single ball was bowled in the field in five days. The Dunedin Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in 1989 was also washed out by rain.
And two more Tests between Australia and England in 1970 and 1938 were played for five days in rain.
Dhaka/Aminul