How Afghanistan and New Zealand players spent 5 days in Greater Noida?

The historic one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was called off due to rain at Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium. The five-day Test match was abandoned without even a ball being bowled due to the damp outfield. Hence, the historic Test match turned into an absolute disappointment for both teams as they couldn't play a single ball. 

This was the first Test match between these two teams in history. Hence, Afghanistan's disappointment level was higher as they missed a brilliant opportunity to play against New Zealand. Both teams passed their time by hitting the gym and playing cricket in the hallways. Afghanistan will be playing a series against South Africa in the UAE, while the Kiwis will travel to Sri Lanka to play a Test series, which falls under the WTC cycle. So, the players didn't want to sit idle and did something productive. 

"We tried getting a couple of gym sessions and making sure the players are really active and working hard. Nowadays modern players don’t need encouragement. They’re always in the gym and training. We’ve got a one-day series coming up against South Africa. So, towards the end of these last couple of days, I’ve had an eye on that, making sure our players are ready for the next series," said Jonathan Trott, head coach of Afghanistan. 

On the other hand, New Zealand's head coach Garry Stead said, "A lot of hallway cricket in the hotel. Lots of playing spin and things like that, similar to what Trott said, our guys have been in the gym and, and working away."

New Zealand have back-to-back series coming their way

After a disappointing time in India, the Blackcaps are set to travel to Sri Lanka to play a 2-match Test series, which falls under the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 cycle. After that, they'll play a 3-match Test series against India. The Kiwis will spend a lot of time in the Asian countries, and this match was the first step towards their preparation since it didn't come under the WTC cycle. 

Hence, coach Stead expressed his disappointment in the situation, but everybody understood that nothing could be done about the weather conditions. That's why the players decided to keep practicing in the hallways. New Zealand are currently sitting in the third place of the WTC points table and will be aiming to move further in the future.