Sub-standard conditions in Noida continue to hamper start of Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test match on Day 2

Sub-standard conditions including a poor drainage system, sodden outfield and woeful facilities continue to play spoilsport at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex at Greater Noida, the venue for the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand.

After the first day was called off due to horrid ground conditions, despite no rain, the start of the second day was also delayed due to bad ground conditions.

A part of the midwicket area was dug up and ground staff were seen trying to patch it up with dry patches of grass and soil to make the ground ready for play – all this despite no rain for the last one full day.

The teams had a bad build-up to the Test match with neither team not able to have a single practice session due to adverse weather conditions and horrible facilities in the ground.

Although there was an overnight shower before the first day – Monday – the inexperienced ground staff and lack of good facilities meant the authorities had to cut a sorry figure.

It was only natural that Afghanistan cricket officials were unhappy with how things panned out. The ground is the home ground for the Afghanistan cricket team and miscommunication between the ground staff and the team compounded the issue.

An Afghanistan Cricket Board official said while the authorities promised good facilities, they were just mere promises. “This is a huge mess, we are never coming back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here. We had spoken with the concerned people well in advance and were assured by the stadium guys that everything will be in order, but it is nothing,” an ACB official told the media and news agencies.

It is understood that the Afghanistan team is looking at asking the BCCI to change their home ground to Lucknow or Kanpur – both stadiums have served as Afghanistan’s home grounds in the past.

The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex at Greater Noida is managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority and hosted a pink ball Duleep Trophy match in 2016. The ground was banned by the BCCI in September 2017 due to match-fixing during corporate matches and no BCCI affiliated match has been hosted here since.

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand is not a part of the World Test Championship cycle but is an ICC recognised match.