AFG vs NZ, Greater Noida Test: No play possible on Day 2 as DDCA sends covers, UPCA loans Super Sopper

Greater Noida: The usage of traditional tarpaulin to produce protection to outfield, electric fans to dry wet patches, loaning ground cover from one state unit and super sopper from the alternative while deploying untrained ground personnel, the Greater Noida Authority encountered colossal failure in now now not being able to get second day’s play underway the full way through the one off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand. For the second successive day, now now not a single ball shall be bowled at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports complex here putting the venue less than scanner and making it an international embarrassment. The sport, the primary between both nations, used to be scheduled to begin off on Monday but no play used to be conceivable as the umpires cited “players safety” as a concern.

While there used to be no rain at some stage within the day, there used to be a downpour for about an hour on Monday evening, affecting the beginning of play on Tuesday, which used to be scheduled to begin off half an hour earlier than the original start time of 10 am. While the skies remained clear on Tuesday, the sector couldn’t even be readied for a curtailed day’s play despite best efforts. The mid-on and midwicket areas remained a reason for concern as the groundsmen were bringing in dry sections of grass from the practice area to “transplant” it to the mid wicket area.

Additionally, three table fans were used to dry patches of grass on the offside as the groundsmen continued to work all day. Officials from the Greater Noida Authority, less than which the stadium falls, were also in attendance, supervising the work. Umpires conducted three inspections before calling off play on the second day. Per the stadium officials, there are five super soppers — two automatic and three manual. Alternatively, all all through precisely two have been used, that too sparingly.
If sources are to be believed, the Greater Noida Authority had requested Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) for a pair of super soppers and that they send it from their Meerut Stadium for logistical purposes.

In a similar way the full way through day time, traditional marriage shamiyana (tent) used to be used to cover the outfield and the full way through the evening when heavy rains started, they used tarpaulin as DDCA authorities were rushing their outfield cover from Kotla. If this wasn’t enough, the Greater Noida Authority didn’t have enough trained groundstaff and it sounds as if used their untrained labour for the work. While the pitch area remained pristine, the outfield has been the issue on both days.

The BCCI had given the Afghanistan Cricket Board some options including Kanpur, Bengaluru and Greater Noida. Alternatively, the ACB opted for Greater Noida for logistical reasons. “The venue has always been Afghanistan’s home venue. If we talk about back from 2016, we have been playing games here,” ACB International cricket manager Menhaj Raaz said.

The area is receiving incessant rainfall for the past two weeks, which the ACB claim has played spoilsport. “It's brought on by the rain. The day prior to this also, it rained. We had a three-day game here with among the local teams which went well. We didn’t face any issue. But when the rain started and all of this came about.”
Afghanistan Cricket Board has hosted 11 white-ball international games here before. The opposite Indian ground where they

have hosted games is Dehradun. “We had conducted a recce four to 6 months back, and even the visiting team had done their recce. So there used to be no issue.” Raaz added that ACB considered moving the match to a special venue nevertheless the monsoon made it very not really. “We tried working on a choice to shift the sport and that they said that brought on by the same rain, that it's possible you are going to in truth now now not give you the choice to, you realize, really prepare the venue for you the full way through the impending next 24 hours.”