Thread by @ovshake42

On this day, 1998, a Test match at Sabina Park had to be called off after 61 balls due to pitch conditions.

In 121 years of international cricket, no match had been abandoned for such a reason.

This was what the pitch looked like after not even an hour of cricket.
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The pitch had been relaid three months ago.

Jamaican Board Chief Executive George Prescod and groundsman Charlie Joseph were both certain that it would hold fine.

Ground supervisor and former West Indies opener Easton McMorris hoped that "either side can make 380 on it".
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But on the day before the Test, Nasser Hussain had a close look.

He saw the groundsmen on their hands and knees "trying to fill the gaps with Polyfilla or whatever they could find".

There were cracks. Enormous cracks.
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England captain Atherton went for an inspection on the morning of the Test match.

The cracks were visible even to the naked eye.

The groundsmen lay a string from one set of stumps to the other.

It brushed against the ground only at certain places.
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There were gaps in other places.

And some of these gaps went up to three inches.

The pitch looked likely to crumble any moment.

The cracks were so prominent that you had to look at them vertically to gauge the depth.
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The largest crack was just outside off-stump at good-length at one end. It could easily be called a crevice.

Atherton obviously batted first when he won the toss, then walked out with Stewart.

Walsh bowled the first over. The first ball went just past Atherton's nose.
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Ambrose started from the other end.

A ball pitched on a length and went just past Stewart's right armpit.

Another ball came off a length, hit Stewart on the shoulder, and flew to the slips.

Walsh pitched up his first ball at the other end, just outside off.
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The ball rose almost vertically. Atherton shouldered arms, but it still hit the bat and flew to gully.

Butcher arrived. The ball, once again off a length, seemed headed for his face.

Fortunately, the bat came just in time to intercept the missile.
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The ball ballooned to at third slip.

As Butcher returned, Adam Hollioake met him with raucous laughter.

Out in the middle, Stewart greeted Hussain with "it's Saturday, it's 8 o'clock, it's the National Lottery."

After the over, umpire Venkat called match referee Jarman.
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Jarman told him that the if the umpires called the match off, they would have his support.

Venkat and Bucknor decided to continue.

Remember, there was no precedence of calling off a match due to poor pitch in Test cricket.

Ending the match would not have been easy.
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Ambrose and Walsh continued to bowl line and length, nothing more, but that was enough on that pitch.

The batsmen kept getting hit on knuckles and forearms multiple times.

English physio Wayne Morton had to rush out six times.

Hussain eventually edged Ambrose to second slip.
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9/3. Thorpe walked out.

Crawley, next man in, chain-smoked in tension and muttered that someone might be killed.

In the tenth over (from Ambrose) Stewart left an overpitched ball. The ball climbed steeply and went over wicketkeeper David Williams's head for four byes.
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Even Ambrose came up to Stewart and apologised.

The next ball landed on roughly the same spot. This one went to Williams on the second bounce.

In the same over, Stewart was hit on his hand twice.

The first ball of the next over, from Walsh, hit Thorpe on the elbow.
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Morton rushed out again.

Stewart now had a word with the umpires, who called for drinks, then had a conversation with home captain Lara.

Stewart signalled Atherton to come out.

After a long discussion, play was called off.
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The match was officially declared abandoned after a conversation with ICC in London.

The crowd of four thousand got full refunds.

But that was scant consolation for the five hundred or so English supporters who had flown in for the Test.
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A replacement Test at Port-of-Spain was arranged next week.

The Jamaica Gleaner wrote that "the pitch should now be dug up, and those directly responsible for this travesty of a Test pitch should be buried in the same hole".
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Michael Holding said he had never seen a pitch as dangerous, and that it was not fit for Test cricket or even club cricket.

Ian Botham feared that someone was going to be seriously hurt.

Atherton claimed that there were more undulations than Epsom on Derby Day.
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To be fair, the Jamaica Cricket Association did an overhaul so massive that their new pitch actually won accolades from the touring Australians next year.

Oh, and Nixon McLean debuted in that Test. Thankfully he played another 18.