Due to the bad weather and unfavourable playing conditions, Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton was furious with the umpires for not calling off the match against South Africa much earlier than it was ultimately decided. Houghton called it "ridiculous" and said that not even a ball should have been bowled under those circumstances.
While the umpires kept the players on the field throughout the chase, Zimbabwe fast bowler Richard Ngarava slipped and had to be removed. A nine-overs-a-side contest between South Africa and Zimbabwe in a Super 12 Group 2 encounter of the ICC T20 World Cup finally ended with South Africa on 51 without loss in three overs chasing Zimbabwe's 79/5 here on Monday.
When Houghton inquired about Ngarava, he responded, "I believe it's a little early to determine the true extent of the damage because he is currently resting in the bathroom with a lot of ice strapped to his ankle. But it goes without saying that we're not too pleased with the fact that he's not in the best frame of mind right now for bowling. Just wait and see. Over the coming days, we must keep an eye on things."
The coach said that he wasn't opposed to playing in "somewhat adverse weather," but that he was absolutely not in favour of playing in unplayable conditions. He did, however, express disappointment that the umpires didn't take the call to end the match much earlier.
"I appreciate the desire to attempt to acquire these games for the general public, for everyone else, and for the TV viewers, believe me. I realise that we have to attempt to play in a little bit of bad weather to obtain a result, but I felt like we went overboard in this game and should have definitely cut off four or five overs. To be honest, I don't think we should have bowled a single ball."
The coach claimed that because the decision-making on the field is in the hands of the umpires, he felt helpless while waiting in the locker room.
"The umpires are those individuals in the middle who make the calls, and they appeared to believe it was appropriate to play. There is nothing I can do off the field, even when I disagree with them.
Houghton responded, "I thought the rain had been so heavy at once, it was absurd," when asked if he would agree that the conditions were hazardous. It was misty, type of mizzle, and stuff throughout the majority of the evening and night, but it eventually got to the point where we could hear it banging on the rooftop in the dugout. That no longer seems like mizzle and drizzle to me. It is now time to leave the playing area.
"Field was soaked. When we began, it was soaked. Both teams had to contend with challenging conditions because of the rain as South Africa took the field. As we bowled, it became steadily more drenched. It's too wet when your keeper is slipping while attempting to slide down the leg side while facing the spinners. I don't believe the circumstances were appropriate to continue the game."