4th and Final Test: West Indies v India at QPO

If there is no rain & there is no play, that ground has to be deemed unacceptable for international cricket. Or, it forfeits income from TV

WTH !  Alan Donald was indeed, a Fastbowler  ;D

Chair, you not gonna caution these posters ???

for copying/duplicating and multiple handles 

cricketwindies.com/under-the-baobab-tree...please-i-beggin-yuh/

hahahahahaa : thats a likkel mouse squeak

West Indies have now featured in 3 of the 5 shortest Test matches:

10 balls bowled at North Stand vs England in 2009
61 balls bowled at Kingston vs England in 1998
132 balls bowled at Port of Spain vs India in 2016

The two other matches in the top 5 are:

72 balls bowled at Kandy between Sri Lanka and India in 1993
104 balls bowled at Trent Bridge between England and Australia in 1926.

4 of the 15 shortest Test matches have now taken placed in the last 2 years:

West Indies vs India at Port of Spain in 2016 (132 balls)
India vs South Africa at Bangalore in 2015 (486 balls)
Bangladesh vs South Africa at Dhaka in 2015 (529 balls)
South Africa vs New Zealand at Durban in 2016 (598 balls)

***

Ketchim asked in another thread why there has been an increase in the number of rain-affected matches in recent years.

I think a large problem is the scheduling. If I recall correctly, this is the first time the QPO and Kingsmead have hosted Test matches in August - notorious rainy seasons.

The sheer number of cricket that is played today - across all three formats, and the increase in T20 tournaments - is becoming a scheduling nightmare. For example, we also saw Bangladesh forced into playing South Africa last year during monsoon season.

There are only so many months in the year where Test cricket can be played, and with the number of T20 tournaments on the rise, it is becoming harder and harder to try and fit everything in the schedule.

The Big 3 are taking the best part of the Calendar :

for their Home tournaments....as well as the IPL

The rest of the Nations are given the Left over dates !

www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-india...t/story/1048685.html

It has never happened before. Of the 60 Test matches the Queen's Park Oval

has hosted, this was the first to be played in August.


The venue has never staged a Test in July, only two - in 2010 and 2014 - in June,

and only one, back in 1965, in May.


The other 56 Tests have all been played between January 19 and April 26,

in the dry season, in West Indies' traditional cricket season.

Thanks for pulling up that article. I was only going from memory re: Test matches in August at QPO and Kingsmead, so nice to have that confirmed. It does appear that the Big 3 get the most lucrative dates/weather and the rest are fighting for scraps, willing to take any dates - even if it means scheduling them for rainy seasons. I can't see the scheduling easing up any time soon, especially if the World Twenty20 is to be played every two years.

A little more context on last years washed out series between Bangladesh and South Africa:

indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket...s-in-monsoon-months/

There really wasn't a whole lot the BCB could do with that series. Either play during the monsoon season and hope for the best, or wait 7 years.