*** Wet outfield scraps first day of Aghanistan-New Zealand Test | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Wet outfield scraps first day of Aghanistan-New Zealand Test

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Email:  hussainm@newsobahrain.com

The first day’s play of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was called off yesterday without the toss due to earlier rain creating a wet outfield.

The toss is scheduled for 9:00 am (03:30 GMT) on Tuesday, day two of the five-day contest, and officials aim to get 98 overs in during the day. Umpires made repeated inspections throughout yesterday 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.

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.