The big news

Two separate incidents in different corners of the world have provided more strength to the argument that, despite all the lip-service offered to it, cricket administrators generally do not care for Test cricket.

The fourth Test at Trinidad between West Indies and India was washed out after only 22 overs after a spell of rain rendered the outfield unfit to play. Similar farcical scenes were seen in Durban, South Africa, where a captivating contest between South Africa and New Zealand saw an early end, again because of rain rendering the outfield poor.

The match referees of both these games have rated the outfield "poor". The West Indies Cricket Board and Cricket South Africa have 14 days to respond. Both the grounds could receive a fine or a warning.

But the damage has already been done. In a day and age where Test cricket struggles to attract relevance, it is essential for cricket's custodians to ensure that preparations for an international cricket match are up to scratch before the match. This punitive action is welcome, but has come a little too late in the day.

Other top stories

  1. Sri Lanka (288 in 48.5 overs) defeated Australia (206 in 47.2 overs) by 82 runs in the second ODI at Colombo and levelled the five-match series 1-1.
  2. England (194/3 in 34.3 overs) defeated Pakistan (260/6 in 50 overs) by 44 runs (Duckworth-Lewis method) in the first ODI at Southampton to take a 1-0 lead in in the five-match series.
  3. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sold the ground rights for the upcoming Twenty20 International series between West Indies and India in Florida, United States, without a tender process, according to a report in The Times of India.
  4. Australian captain Steven Smith will return to Australia to rest and miss the rest of his team's Sri Lanka tour. Australia have already lost the Test series with the ODI series currently poised at 1-1 after two matches. Three more ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals are scheduled to take place. Australian opener David Warner will lead the side in Smith's absence. 
  5. The Justice Lodha committee, which was constituted to probe the BCCI's affairs, has provided a clarification on earlier reports which suggested they had accused selectors of seeking sexual favours, according to a report from The Indian Express. The committee stated that while a question of such a nature was posed, there was no attempt to project selectors as "depraved and despicable".
  6. England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has said that no player will be forced to go on his team's upcoming tour to Bangladesh in September. There are security concerns over the tour after a terrorist attack in Dhaka in July killed 22 people. The England team will be briefed by a security delegation on Thursday. Bangladesh's captain Mashrafe Mortaza has called for cricket "to continue".
  7. India Red lead India Green by 354 runs after Day/Night 2 of the first match of the Duleep Trophy at Greater Noida. Abhinav Mukund's unbeaten 162 and Sudip Chatterjee's 114 took India Red to 344/3 after they scored 161 in their first innings. India Green were bowled out for 151 in their first innings.
  8. India A's match against South Africa A in the Quadrangular A-Team One-Day series was washed out after the Indians scored 140/4 in 35.2 overs. India A are currently on top of the points table with two wins in four matches. The other three teams in the tournament are Australia's National Performance Squad, South Africa A and Australia A.
  9. Albert Tuti Patriots (164/5 in 20 overs) defeated Chepauk Super Gillies (119 all out in 19.4 overs) by 45 runs in the inaugural match of the Tamil Nadu Premier League.