Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test match called off without a ball being bowled

Hyderabad: The one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was called off without a ball being bowled, marking the eighth such instance in Test cricket.

Inclement weather combined with wet outfield and an overwhelmed drainage system meant the match at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida could not happen on any of the five days.

The first two days of the match was abandoned because of a wet outfield and bad ground conditions, especially near the midwicket area, while the next three days were abandoned due to incessant rains.

Given the ground conditions and the inexperienced ground staff and sub-par facilities, it was a foregone conclusion that the match would be abandoned without even the toss taking place.

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand is the first between the two countries and is not a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.

An official statement from the Afghanistan Cricket Board read: “It is still raining in Greater Noida and due to frequent rains, the 5th and final day of Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test has been also called off by the match officials.”

The last time a Test match was called off without a ball being bowled was way back in December 1988 when the Test match between New Zealand and India at Carisbrook, Dunedin, was called off.

New Zealand will next travel to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series which is a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle.

List of Test matches called off without a ball being bowled

1. England vs Australia at Old Trafford, Manchester, August 1890

2. England vs Australia, Old Trafford, Manchester, July 1938

3. Australia vs England, Melbourne, December 1970

4. New Zealand vs Pakistan, Carisbrook, Dunedin, February 1989

5. West Indies vs England, Georgetown, Guyana, March 1990

6. Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Faisalabad, December 1998

7. New Zealand vs India, Carisbrook, Dunedin, December 1998

8. Afghanistan vs New Zealand, Greater Noida, September 2024