The first day’s play of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was called off on Monday without the toss due to earlier rain creating a wet outfield.
Umpires made repeated inspections throughout on Monday at Afghanistan’s adopted home ground near the Indian capital New Delhi at Greater Noida, the first Test at the venue.
The ground staff worked overtime to clear wet patches at the ground, which witnessed bright sunshine for a large part of the day.
But the area has been hit by heavy rain over the past 10 days. Several practice sessions were cancelled for both teams ahead of the game.
“When you compare it with 10am till now, there’s an improvement but we’re worried about five to six patches inside the 30-yard circle,” Kumar Dharmasena, one of the two on-field umpires, told the host broadcaster at the end of the day.
“One area of the run-up does not look comfortable. It’s a player-safety issue. We even saw one player get injured on Monday as well, we know how hard it is. Both of us are concerned.”
Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran injured his ankle on the eve of the Test while fielding at a wet patch on the outfield.Afghanistan has hosted several T20 and ODI internationals since 2017 at the venue, which lacks world-class facilities.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has offered Afghanistan venues to train in and host matches outside their troubled nation, including in the northern Indian cities of Lucknow and Dehradun.
It is only Afghanistan’s 10th Test match.
The minnows have played nine matches, and lost six – including their bruising introduction when they lost the debut match against India inside two days.
After this, Tim Southee’s New Zealand will tour Sri Lanka for a two-Test series, then return to India for three five-day matches.
The toss for the Test has been moved up to 9am today, and a minimum of 98 overs will be bowled on the remaining four days. Despite the generally overcast conditions in Greater Noida,
Today morning’s forecast includes potential thunderstorms, which may add to the heat challenges for organisers.