Test Series Abandoned After Condition Of Pitch
England's cricket tour of the West Indies descended into farce today when the opening
day of the second Test in Antigua was abandoned after just ten balls because of the condition of the pitch.
The decision was taken to prevent injury to the players because the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, prepared by former Warwickshire and Kent fast bowler Tony Merrick, was deemed to be too sandy.
The ground, purpose-built for the 2007 World Cup, is staging only its second Test Match but England have now asked for the game to be switched to the Antigua Recreation Ground in St John's which used to be the Test venue on the Caribbean island.
England had already expressed concern about the condition of the outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in the build-up to the Test but the decision to abandon play after only 14 minutes of the first day was taken by match referee Alan Hurst, who was called into the middle by umpires Rudi Koertzen and Tony Hill after the West Indies bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards struggled to run to the crease.
Hugh Morris, Managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said: "We are prepared to move the match to the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG).
"It's critical that we play this match and we want to do that for ourselves after our defeat in Jamaica. For the fans that have come over here it is really important that we get this game going.
"Giles Clarke has put that proposal forward to the West Indies Cricket Board and the ICC and we are awaiting the result of that."
England captain Andrew Strauss, who was on six when play was abandoned, said his players would stand less chance of getting injured at the ARG, but admitted conditions at the proposed alternative venue were far from ideal.
"It's not in a great state but in terms of injuries or whatever it is fit to play on," explained Strauss.
"We don't know what state the wicket is in. It might not have been covered all night but I think it's fit for bowlers to bowl on and batsmen to play on."
Morris revealed that he and the rest of the England camp had concerns about the state of the outfield at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium before play began and raised his concerns with the ICC on Thursday.
"We only came out here the day before yesterday for practice and to have a look and we were concerned about the pitch," he said.
"I wrote a letter to the ICC match referee and delivered it yesterday evening because we were clearly concerned at what we saw."
"It's absolutely not good enough. It's desperately disappointing for everybody, particularly the people who have paid so much money to come over here. We really are thinking about them.
"We are keen to get the game on and get playing Test match cricket anyway but we are really keen to get a solution to this for the people who have come all the way over here.
"To have a day of Test match cricket abandoned is clearly not good enough and everyone must recognise that because it doesn't do the image of cricket any good around the world."
England lost the first Test in Jamaica after they were dismissed for just 51, their third-lowest Test score, last Saturday.
by: Sarfaraz Khan
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