Cricket

In Jamaica on 29 January 1998, an international (test) match between England and the West Indies was abandoned on account of the state of the wicket (playing surface). Although on Christmas Day 1997 a limited-overs match between India and Sri Lanka had been abandoned for similar reasons, such an incident is unique in over 120 years of test cricket. Specifically, it was the unevenness of the ball’s bounce off the wicket that was deemed to be hazardous to the players (slightly harder than a baseball, a cricket ball weighs between 155.9 and 163 grams and, at international level, is usually delivered at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour). In the 56 minutes of play prior to abandonment, England’s physiotherapist was called to the field to treat injured players on six separate occasions (equating to approximately once every 12 balls bowled). It was this that led the umpires, in consultation with the team captains and the match referee, to decide that the wicket was too dangerous to play on.