First day called off in Afghanistan-New Zealand cricket test due to wet outfield

GREATER NOIDA, India (AP) — A wet outfield at the Greater Noida Sports Complex meant that day one of the solitary Afghanistan-New Zealand cricket test was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Monday.

No toss took place at the venue, which is situated on the outskirts of Delhi, India’s capital. The region has received incessant rainfall over the past week.

The umpires, Kumar Dharmasena of Sri Lanka and Sharfuddoula Saikat of Bangladesh, inspected the conditions twice in the first session and then once each in the remaining two sessions.

Finally, at 4.30pm local time, they took the decision to call off play.

Play will now begin 30 minutes early on each of the remaining four days to make up for lost time.

This is Afghanistan’s third test of 2024, following one-off matches against Ireland and Sri Lanka. Star wrist spinner Rashid Khan is unavailable following back surgery.

New Zealand is kicking off a three-month subcontinental tour that will also involve series against Sri Lanka and India.

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Squads:

Afghanistan (from): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ikram Alikhil, Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Zia-ur-Rehman, Afsar Zazai, Nijat Masood, Shamsurrahman, Abdul Malik

New Zealand (from): Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee (captain), Matt Henry, Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, William O’Rourke

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket