‘We are frustrated’ – NZ's Gary Stead laments ‘lost opportunity’ with abandoned one-off Test vs Afghanistan

New Zealand’s first-ever Test against Afghanistan resulted in a washout, with head coach Gary Stead labelling it as a ‘lost opportunity’ in preparing for the upcoming Sri Lanka and India Test series. Stead admitted he, alongside the group, is ‘frustrated’ with the game’s outcome despite it not affecting their World Test Championship (WTC) final chances.

New Zealand is scheduled to play six Tests in Asia, starting with one against Afghanistan, two against Sri Lanka and three against India, respectively. With this game washed out without a ball being bowled, the Kiwis will fly to the Island Nation for the first Test beginning Sep 18 in Galle.

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Stead sounded disappointed with the game getting abandoned in Greater Noida due to persistent rains across five days, saying it's not often that an opportunity arises of them facing Afghanistan, a team with a unique blend of bowlers, in a Test match.

"The most disappointing part for us is that we lost the opportunity to be match-hardened and match-ready when we go into our Test match [against Sri Lanka] next week," Stead said at the post-match press conference.

"The guys are really disappointed. It was an opportunity to play Afghanistan. It doesn't come around that often.

"They have some unique bowlers - it's always good to get your head around how you face them. The way they play is a little bit different to other countries. It's always learning what you can do when you get in those match situations,” he continued.

‘Test cricket is dear to us’

With New Zealand cricketers vouching for Test cricket being dearest to them, Stead said despite this game not falling under the current WTC Cycle, they were looking forward to five-day cricket against Afghanistan, with a beautiful-looking pitch on offer.

“We were frustrated,” Stead continued.

“We have come here to play cricket and play a Test match, and as Jonathan [Trott, Afghanistan head coach] said, Test cricket, certainly to our group of players that is here, that's very, very dear to their hearts and every Test you get to play in is a big one.

"So, regardless of whether it has World Test Championship points or not, that opportunity to get out there for five days, it looked a great surface. The whole block looked fantastic, so it would have been a great match of Test cricket,” he added.

For New Zealand to qualify for the WTC Final, they need to win their remaining matches in the ongoing cycle, with five out of six Tests to be played in Asia.
Speaking of the conditions in Galle, Stead said the pitches on offer will be different than the ones in India, and they are ready to roll on them.

"The World Test Championship is alive and well, and we're currently in third place, and we want to make the finals again," he said. "We've been there once in the past, and we are desperate to get there again. So every test match we play will be an important one.

"The conditions that we face in Galle will be, I'm sure, different to Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai when we come back here again. So, it's still about adapting to the different surfaces where I'm learning from those. But also banking the knowledge you have created in the past even though it's been a couple of [sessions of] trainings out there, we'd still bank on what we've learnt on those sort of pitches,” he concluded.

(With inputs from agencies)