Third day’s play washed out
A patchy outfield brought the risks of playing cricket in late-winter into focus after no play was possible on day three of the first test between South Africa and New Zealand in Durban.
Umpires Richard Illingworth and Ian Gould ruled out any chance of a ball being bowled shortly after 2pm on Sunday (midnight Monday NZ Time), several areas of the Kingsmead ground still deemed to wet for play to proceed safely.
Rain had meant just 22 overs were possible on day two, the Black Caps reduced to 15-2 in reply to the hosts 263, and when that became heavier and more persistent overnight a very soggy outfield greeted players the following morning.
Despite beaming sunshine, Illingworth and Gould quickly made the call to delay play and scheduled a midday inspection, where it was decided the ground was still too wet.
A number of areas remained considerably damp at the third review of conditions and stumps were called soon after. Mostly fine conditions are forecast for Monday and Tuesday in Durban.
‘‘Unfortunately play has been ruled out for today - conditions still too wet in the outfield. Back for day four tomorrow,’’ said a message on the Black Caps official Twitter account.
While 65mm of overnight rain certainly played its part, ultimately it was an outfield which has not recovered fully since being relaid in June that was responsible for a further delay to the first test in a two-match series.
The ground was on track to be at 100 per cent, but a stretch of bad weather at the end of July meant a number of barren, sandy patches with little or no grass remained.
It was those areas near the boundary edge and on the edge of the wicket block which caused the umpires the most concern and a message posted on the scoreboard following the first inspection indicated the result of the rain.
Photos and a video posted on Twitter by the Black Caps showed a stunning Durban day contrasted by damp and muddy sections of the outfield.
A significantly reduced second day and the absence of play on day three has left either team needing to produce two very good days of cricket to claim a result.
South Africa still require 18 wickets, while New Zealand will need to score at a decent clip on Monday to be any hope of victory on day five.
And, as proved during their brief stint at the crease on Saturday, doing that against a fired-up Proteas bowling unit will be no meant feat.
Returning from injury and not operating at 100 per cent, veteran quick Dale Steyn still nicked out Tom Latham (4) and trapped fellow opener Martin Guptill (7) to give the Black Caps an early reminder of their disastrous 2013 tour of South Africa.