Hundreds milled around on the Sabina Park minefield last night after it had exploded in the face of West Indies cricket. For more than an hour after the first Test was abandoned in disgraceful circumstances, England and Jamaican supporters alike surveyed the rogue, brown wicket, which had allowed only 56 minutes and 61 balls before both captains, umpires and match referee Barry Jarman decided there was no option but to wave the white flag.
After an emergency meeting, before which International Cricket Council chief executive David Richards was consulted at Lord's, umpires Steve Bucknor and India's Srini Venkataraghavan put England's batsmen out of their misery and said "no more."
In 121 years of Test cricket never has a match been aborted because of the state of the playing surface.
Only once has an international match been so affected - the oneday game between India and Sri Lanka in Indore last month.
Many English fans had paid out the best part of £2,000 each to watch the opening match of the series. Their small comfort was that all ticket-money would be refunded.
Jamaican pace legend Michael Holding said: "I've never seen a pitch as dangerous as that. The people responsible should be brought to task."
Those people are presumably groundsman Charlie Joseph and Jamaican chief executive George Prescod, who supervised the preparation of the relaid pitch.
Balls spat and shot off the cracked and spiteful surface, and, propelled at blinding pace by Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, batting soon became a dangerous exercise.
England physiotherapist Wayne Morton was the busiest man in Kingston, speeding out of the dressing-room to tend the wounded, but mainly Alec Stewart.
Stewart and Graham Thorpe had seen enough when Thorpe was hit for the second time. He went off for an X-ray on the middle finger of his left hand, with England 17 for three and one ball of the 10th over delivered.
Efforts will be made - and England are in favour - to try and arrange a substitute Test to bring the series back to strength at five matches.
