What has happened on a micro level, however, is a shame. Since 8:30 a.m. on Friday, a day when Florida was scheduled to play three consecutive games, there has been only 30 minutes of heavy rain – we can’t confirm if there wasn’t a light drizzle in addition, but we’re talking proper rain here – on the Central Broward Regional Park turf field. And yet, we didn’t have any play on Friday or Saturday. Sunday also looks risky, as a certain portion of the outfield is still soft underfoot.
The fact that there won’t be a game even though it’s raining is hard to explain to people in the US or even expats who have so many other options. Water leaking from one side of the field means that the drainage is good in one part of the field but not so good in another. It’s hurricane season in Florida and despite the unprecedented amount of rain that we’ve seen here over the past week, not repairing the drainage before the World Cup should be unacceptable.
Often, when the drainage is not good, cricket stadiums cover the entire playing field, but here there is no cover other than the one that covers the square and the bowler’s run-up. This is not a good thing for a World Cup.
Often, when the drainage is not good, cricket stadiums cover the entire playing field, but here there is no cover other than what covers the square and the bowlers’ run-up. That’s not a good thing for a World Cup. You have to wonder what the ICC’s commercial partners think of this.
This is not to underestimate the record rainfall that hit the region in the days leading up to the match. There was flash flooding in and around southern Florida, causing severe damage. Cricket is nothing compared to that. The groundsmen did their best on the day, but the umpires, who are in charge of the safety of the players, were unable to allow the game to go on in any way.
Again this is not about effort but about equipment. Not that it would have affected the Games, but the Super Sopper ran out of fuel on Friday afternoon (insert ironic joke about running out of fuel in the USA) and then broke down, only to be repaired later in the evening. The fact that Broward County, which is in charge of the stadium, does not have much cover should be nothing new for the ICC. It should be part of the preparations.
All of this left the teams a little disappointed. For Pakistan, who finished second in Group A, it was imperative that the matches on Friday and Sunday were played if they wanted any chance of making the Super Eights. For India, who played all their matches in New York’s dreadful batting conditions, it was a chance to get used to better conditions ahead of the more important matches. For Canada, USA and Ireland, it was another day out before they are forgotten for two more years.
“We were really looking forward to playing a game and we were hoping to have better batting conditions than we had in New York. So as a team I think it was important for us to play a game, but, again, there’s something we can’t control, we can’t control. So, it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t get a game here.”
India will now go a week without cricket, playing three Super Eight matches in five days in three different Caribbean islands. Rathore can only shrug and say that this is not ideal.
“I think the next time the ICC considers it, the ground should be completely covered so that we can play the match as soon as the rain stops.”
Imad Wasim of Pakistan
There was informal talk within the ICC about possibly replacing the 2028 T20 World Cup in England with this World Cup, but that did not come to fruition because the English summer has been planned decades in advance. And there will never be a “right time” to start afresh, so the ICC can’t be blamed for pushing for it, even if it did so in less-than-perfect conditions for playing.
It might be too harsh to quote Oscar Wilde’s saying about good intentions and bad results, but surely the ICC cannot be happy with what happened over the weekend in Florida?
Siddharth Monga is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo
