A Test to be called off without a ball being bowled is very rare. Barring games cancelled due to war and pandemics, it has happened only seven times previously, with the Afghanistan vs New Zealand game in Greater Noida being the eighth such instance in the 147-year history of the format. Here is a look at the circumstances under which the previous seven games were abandoned completely.
England vs Australia, Old Trafford, 1890
Those days, Test matches were three days long, and Australia were looking to earn a consolation victory in the third and final Test of the tour against WG Grace's England when they arrived in Manchester. But it rained on all three days, leaving the organisers with no option but to call off the Test without even a toss. It was a damp end to a thrilling tour that included 34 first-class matches and the three-Test series which England won 2-0.
England vs Australia, Old Trafford, 1938
Manchester was the scene once again, nearly half a century later. The teams were the same, although by now Test matches were four-day affairs with a rest day in between. Wally Hammond and Don Bradman were the captains, and the Old Trafford Test was supposed to be the third Test in the five-match Ashes series. The weather, though, did not allow the toss again, and the teams moved to Leeds next for the fourth game.
Australia vs England, Melbourne Cricket Ground, 1970
This time it was in Australia that rain played havoc. Now, Tests had become five-day affairs, and the first two Tests of what was originally a six-match series had been drawn. England elected to bowl at the toss, but right when the teams were heading out, it began to rain, and it did for three straight days in Melbourne. Once it was clear a proper Test wasn't possible, the administrators got together and came up with a remarkable plan to thwart the idea of a third straight draw and recoup lost revenue.
They organised a 60-over one-innings-a-side game on the scheduled fifth day, and it was watched by around 46,000 fans, thereby retrospectively earning status as the first-ever ODI. The organisers also hastily arranged for a seventh Test later in January 1971 to make up for the lost fixture.
New Zealand vs Pakistan, Dunedin, 1989
It was an inauspicious start to the three-Test series as the heavy, sweeping rain on the first two days of the Dunedin Test left nearly no chance of a result, and the game was cancelled by day three. However, with conditions improving on the scheduled fourth day of the Test, the two captains John Wright and Imran Khan agreed to play an ODI instead where Richard Hadlee claimed 5 for 38. The next two Tests of the tour went on without a hitch, although those too were draws and the series honours were shared.
West Indies vs England, Bourda, 1990
England arrived in Guyana with a 1-0 lead in the four-game series, but a week of torrential rain leading up to the second Test left the Bourda outfield under water. With three days already lost, a contentious early decision was made on the scheduled rest day to call off the game altogether and instead host an ODI on the scheduled fourth day. That ODI could not take place either due to wet conditions, and so the ODI was moved to the scheduled fifth day. A 49-overs-a-side game was finally possible, and Gordon Greenidge's 77 sealed a comfortable win for the hosts.
Pakistan vs Zimbabwe, Faisalabad, 1998
Thick December fog welcomed both sides in Faisalabad for the third Test of the series. Visibility was so poor that after the second day, most players did not even come to the venue in the morning. On day four, the umpires called off the game. However, some commentators felt the decision was made in haste as conditions had improved by the afternoon. The PCB was also criticised for scheduling a Test in Faisalabad, a place where December fog was the norm. The silver lining for Zimbabwe, though, was that the abandoned Test ensured they won their maiden Test series after 15 previous attempts.
New Zealand vs India, Dunedin, 1998
It was a remarkable coincidence that the sixth and seventh abandoned Tests were called off on the same day - December 20, 1998. While fog played spoilsport in Faisalabad, it was the rain in Dunedin that had the final say. As the rain continued into the third day of the first Test between New Zealand and India, the umpires called the fixture off, forcing a second abandoned Test in Dunedin. For Umpire Steven Dunne, it was the second time in his career - after Dunedin 1989 - to have to abandon a game, and an unofficial one-dayer was played on the scheduled fourth day.