Simmons disappointed in Oval outfield, series result

The Fourth Test between the Windies and India was called off at 9.30 am, making it the third-shortest non-abandoned match in the history of Test cricket. With no super sopper available, as well as inadequate covers, only 22 overs were possible on the opening morning on Thursday, with the WI reaching 62 runs for two wickets.

During the post-game media conference yesterday, the former WI and Trinidad and Tobago all-rounder admitted, “(I’m) extremely surprised because as far as I know, in my years here, this has never been a ground like that. It was really bad. After two days of sun and when I saw it (Sunday) morning, I couldn’t believe how bad it was.

“I don’t know what caused that. I’m surprised because I never expected that here.” The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TT CB) also expressed their displeasure in the state of the venue, which saw no play despite glorious sunshine for the majority of the weekend.

In a media release yesterday, the TT CB stated, “we have jointly launched an investigation to determine what occurred, with a view to remedying the situation so that this does not occur in the future. Once this has been done, it will be presented to the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board).” India triumphed 2-0 in the four-Test series and Simmons acknowledged, “the series was a little bit too up-and-down. We played well in two hours sometimes and the next two hours we’d be down. For me, that was the major disappointment. We’ve shown that we can do things but not consistently enough.

“We batted well in Jamaica but we went and (do) what we did in the First Test in the Third Test. I think it’s disappointing we weren’t consistent enough.” The squad had a week-long camp in Barbados, but Simmons made it clear, “we’ve played three-and-a-quarter Test matches back-to-back and I think we underestimated the power of rest after Test matches. But we also have two T20s (in Florida).

“We also have a one-day squad to be dealing with and a T20 for the first part of the Pakistan series.

We’re trying to get the Test team to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) early so we can get enough practice time before the first two-day game. If we can get two or three practice games before the first Test match, then that will be ideal.”