Afghanistan vs New Zealand Highlights, One-off Test Match: Play abandoned for Day 3

Afghanistan vs New Zealand Live Score, Day 3 Test Match: It's now farcical, bordering on being comical. Tuesday saw everything unprecedented happening at the Shaheed Vijay Pathik Cricket Stadium here. It was the second day of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand, with the first day being called off due to "wet outfield and damp patches in the run-up area of bowlers". If the first day was full of mess and gross mismanagement on the part of the stadium authorities – in charge of the conduct of the Test match – the second day trumped the first in terms of inefficiency and incompetence. Again, play was called off due to "wet outfield and damp patches in playing area" for a second straight day with the toss yet to take place. The two umpires cited "players safety" as a concern. Sample this: In a never-seen-before scenario at the Test level, the groundstaff cut out blocks of dry grass from the nets practice area and then transplanted them on some damp regions inside the 30-yard circle. Then marriage shamiyanas were used to cover parts of the outfield. Electric fans were brought in and employed to dry the affected areas. It was a sight to see members of the groundstaff with their face to the ground, as if they were trying to hear something, and holding the stand of an electric fan. The one sight that topped everything was Afghan fans, who had come to the stadium to enjoy some Test match action between two quality sides, getting onto the field and help out the groundstaff in their efforts to get the ground ready. All this begged one question: Can Test cricket – the elite format of the sport – be subjected to such farce? Read Less