Five Instances When Matches Were Called off Due to Unusual Reasons

Ever since the inception of cricket in the late 1800’s, several matches have been abandoned due to poor weather conditions. Unlike a sport like a football where showers don’t really matter, cricket has time and again been affected by rain.

Interestingly, the wet outfield conditions have prevented the start of a match on quite a few occasions. However, there has been a few other pitch issues and crowd invasions which have literally abandoned the match.

So, let us have a look at such five incidents when matches were abandoned due to crowd invasion, pitch conditions or any other unavoidable circumstances.

1996 World Cup Semifinal, India vs Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata:

The Men in Blue were on the verge of losing the match when the crowd at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata went haywire. They started hurling plastic water bottles in the ground which didn’t really allow the match to continue.

The crowd even set the stadium chairs on fire after India’s unceremonious exit from the World Cup. A teary-eyed Vinod Kambli was seen leaving the ground after India’s defeat.

West Indies vs England, 1997-98 at Sabina Park:

The 1997-98 match between Windies and England was abandoned only after 61 balls were bowled during the course of the match. The umpires felt that the deliveries were rearing up the length and hence had to call the match off during the first day itself.

England post just 17 for three in 10.1 overs when on-field umpires Steve Bucknor and Srinivas Venkataraghavan consulted the match referee and the two team captains.

After a lengthy discussion between the officials and the captains of respective teams, the umpires decided to call the match off due to the pitch condition. It was the first time in 122 years of Test cricket and after 1,396 matches that a match was called off due to the poor condition of the pitch.

West Indies vs England, 2009 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua:

It was a Test match between the same teams way back in 2009. The venue was Sir Vivian Richards Stadium when the match was abandoned after 10 balls were bowled.

Interestingly, the match officials said that the sand-based outfield was very risky for playing. The opening day’s play was suspended in the second over.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) gave clear indications to the Windies Cricket Board (WCB) that extensive work was needed to raise the standard of the stadium.  The stadium was also suspended from hosting any international matches.

India vs Sri Lanka, 2009 at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi

It was a bilateral series which was underway between India and Sri Lanka. The match was called off shortly after the pitch was deemed unsuitable to play.

Sri Lanka batted first and was reduced to 83 for five in 23.2 overs. However, the match was forced to be called off by the match officials.

The surface was quite dangerous and several Lankan batters were injured as they ball reared up from the length. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya, in particular, were hit on their arms several times.

India vs Sri Lanka, 1997 at the Nehru Stadium in Indore

It was a 50-overs match in 1997 which was played between India and Sri Lanka at the Nehru Stadium. Both sides agreed that the pitch was too risky to play on. The game was called off in less than three overs time.

Javagal Srinath struck Roshan Mahanama on the knuckles which made him appeal to the on-field umpires of the poor pitch condition.

The match was suspended for an hour. The surface crumbled very fast and the match was abandoned. Such has been the flip side of matches owing to the strange reasons.