In Test cricket, it's odd to see the result being match abandoned without a ball being bowled. This comes as a bit of a shock; owing to it lasting five days and amounting to 450 overs of possible play. Despite this shock, it has happened. It's rare but it will continue to happen. There are eight instances of this occuring.
The first time it happened, it was England vs Australia at Old Trafford, in 1890. In the late 19th and 20th century, Test matches lasted for three days. Australia were looking to earn a consolation victory in the third and final Test of the tour against W.G. Grace's England when they arrived in Manchester. However, it rained on all three days, leaving the organisers with no option but to call off the Test without even a toss. It was a damp end to a thrilling tour that included 34 first-class matches and the three-Test series which England won 2-0.
It was deja vu for the second occasion as it happened when the same two countries faced-off in the same venue but in 1938. The only difference was by now, Test matches were four-day affairs with a rest day in between. Wally Hammond and Don Bradman were the captains and the Old Trafford Test was supposed to be the third Test in the five-match Ashes series. The weather, though, didn't allow the toss again, and the teams moved to Leeds next for the fourth game. The series was ultimately drawn, 1-1.
We go down under for the next time. It happened in Melbourne, in 1970 and with the same teams being affected. Now, Tests had become five-day affairs and the first two Tests of what was originally a six-match series had been drawn. England elected to bowl at the toss but right when the teams were heading out, it began to rain and it did for three straight days in Melbourne. Once it was clear a proper Test wasn't possible, the administrators got together and came up with a remarkable plan to thwart the idea of a third straight draw and recoup lost revenue.
They organised a 60-over one-innings-a-side game on the scheduled fifth day and it was watched by around 46 000 fans, thereby retrospectively earning status as the first-ever One Day International (ODI). The organisers also hastily arranged for a seventh Test later in January 1971 to make up for the lost fixture.
We stay in Australasia as a Test match between New Zealand and Pakistan got affected in 1989; at Dunedin. It was an inauspicious start to the three match Test series as the heavy, sweeping rain on the first two days of the Dunedin Test left nearly no chance of a result and the game was cancelled by day three. However, with conditions improving on the scheduled fourth day of the Test, the two captains, John Wright and Imran Khan, agreed to play an ODI instead where Richard Hadlee claimed 5 for 38. The next two Tests of the tour went on without a hitch, although those too were draws and the series honours were shared.
England was once again affected when they toured West Indies in 1990. England arrived in Guyana with a 1-0 lead in the four-game series but a week of torrential rain leading up to the second Test left the Bourda outfield under water. With three days already lost, a contentious early decision was made on the scheduled rest day to call off the game altogether and, instead, host an ODI on the scheduled fourth day. That ODI could not take place either due to wet conditions and so the ODI was moved to the scheduled fifth day. A 49-overs-a-side game was finally possible and Gordon Greenidge's 77 sealed a comfortable win for the hosts.
Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in 1998 when the next abandonment took place. Thick December fog welcomed both sides in Faisalabad for the third Test of the series. Visibility was so poor that after the second day, most players didn't even come to the venue in the morning. On day four, the umpires called off the game. However, some commentators felt the decision was made in haste as conditions had improved by the afternoon. The Pakistan Cricket Board was also criticised for scheduling a Test in Faisalabad, a place where December fog was the norm. The silver lining for Zimbabwe, though, was that the abandoned Test ensured they won their maiden Test series after 15 previous attempts.
We go back to Dunedin in 1998. It was a remarkable coincidence that the sixth and seventh abandoned Tests were called off on the same day - 20 December 1998. While fog played spoilsport in Faisalabad, it was the rain in Dunedin that had the final say. As the rain continued into the third day of the first Test between New Zealand and India, the umpires called the fixture off, forcing a second abandoned Test in Dunedin. For Umpire Steven Dunne, it was the second time in his career - after Dunedin 1989 - to have to abandon a game and an unofficial one-dayer was played on the scheduled fourth day.
The most recent was only just concluded. The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was washed out on Friday after five days of rain, just the eighth Test in history to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.
However, there were also question marks about the venue, which was hosting its first Test and has only basic drainage and facilities. Despite some sunshine on day one and two – and increasingly desperate ground staff using electric fans – the outfield remained soaked.
Afghanistan, who have been a force in white-ball cricket and hammered New Zealand at the T20 World Cup in June, are unable to host international matches because of the security situation at home.
"To try and play Test matches at this time of the year is tricky," Afghanistan coach, Jonathan Trott, told reporters, referring to Indian monsoon season. "Disappointed that we weren’t able to play and the water that came down is unprecedented at this time of the year."
New Zealand coach, Gary Stead, said they had spent the time in the gym and trying to amuse themselves at their hotel.
"Lot of hallway cricket in the hotel," he said. "The most disappointing part for us is that we have lost that ability to be match-hardened and match ready when we go into our Test next week."
This match made history as this was the first time that this kind of result had hit on Indian shores. India had first hosted a Test in 1933.
It's a remarkable thing to see that it has happened on many occasions. In my view, Test matches that end in this manner should only occur once in every millenia. The fact that it has happen eight times over 134 years of Test cricket is something to cherish. The innovation to have an ODI in it's place is a brilliant idea, at least to me. It gives the fans something to cheer and look forward to.