Rain has been the scourge of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup and it has followed almost every team all around England. India's match against New Zealand was washed out without a ball being bowled and this became the fourth fixture this year to meet this fate. This is now the most number of matches to have been washed out in any ICC tournament.
There is a forecast of more rain in the coming weeks and this has put the ICC in a real predicament. However, one of the controllable in their own hands is the use of covers which span the entire ground and hence, a game can start as soon as the rain abates.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly too believes that the ICC should start using covers which are being used in India, especially at the Eden Gardens. Speaking to the official broadcasters during the coverage of the India-New Zealand game, the current CAB president gave a proper explanation behind this theory.
Covers allow light to pass through
"The covers that are used in India, at the Eden Gardens are from England and using them here (in England) would have meant spending half the cost and it is also tax-free, so they should have used those here anyway. In India, we use these covers for all matches, so that when the rain stops the match can resume within 10 minutes. They are very light covers, it's not difficult to lift it, You don't need too much manpower. The blue covers that were used earlier in India used to take more than 10 times the time and people in comparison to now," Ganguly told the official broadcasters.
He further explained that the covers used at Eden Gardens are similar to the ones being used at Lord's as they are both translucent which allows the light to pass and helps keep the surface intact when the match resumes after the break.
"The covers that are in Eden Gardens and in Lord's are translucent covers, so light goes past it. This way the grass won't dry up nor will the colour change from green to brown, if you use them to cover the outfield. For such important matches, and in a tournament like the World Cup — especially in a country like England where the rains are so frequent, having these covers are very important, especially on the outfield as well," Ganguly explained.
It has not been an entirely memorable World Cup for the ICC as New Zealand, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa have all been affected with the rain. Sri Lanka, however, have been part of two washouts which is not helping their case either.
