The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Rain plays spoilsport

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 27, 2005

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Rain plays spoilsport

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Bangalore : The opening day of the three-day practice match between Sri Lanka and the Board President's XI proved to be a non-starter as the persisting inclement weather and damp conditions forced umpires Shahvir Tarapore and T.K. Handu to call off play at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

The match was well on its way to becoming a truncated affair as a steady afternoon drizzle and the dip in temperature foiled the tireless efforts of the ground staff to make the turf fit for play. Later in the evening the ground staff also tried placing some vessels of burning coals to dry the pitch but with the sun staying away, their efforts seemed futile.

"There was a bit of sun in the morning for about half an hour but after that the cloud cover came back. Now it all depends on the sun coming out tomorrow if play has to commence," said curator Narayan Raju.

The umpires inspected the pitch twice and called off play after their final inspection at 12.45 p.m. as Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody walked back nodding his head in disappointment.

The Sri Lankan squad never turned up at the ground while the President's XI players went to the adjacent National Cricket Academy for a hit at the indoor nets besides exercising at the gym.

Selector and coach V.B. Chandrashekar expressed his dismay over the continuing spells of rain while the players looked at the skies and hoped for brighter conditions in the next two days.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport