Port of Spain, Trinidad: The fourth and final Test between the West Indies and India was abandoned as a draw because of a wet outfield on the fifth morning in Trinidad on Monday.

Only 22 overs were bowled at the start of the match. India win the series 2-0 but surrender the top spot in the Test rankings to Pakistan, as they needed to defeat the West Indies 3-0 to prevent their arch-rivals from supplanting them.

Officials remained tight-lipped even as condemnation rained down on administrators deemed responsible for the fiasco of a waterlogged outfield that has ruined the Test soon after the first day.

The umpires, match referee Ranjan Madugalle and officials of the West Indies Cricket Board and the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, have so far avoided commenting on the embarrassing situation.

However, the West Indies Cricket Board’s regional curator, Kent Crafton, acknowledged that hosting international cricket at the venue was always going to be a challenge.

“We have been having rain constantly for the past few weeks so any additional rain would not have helped the situation,” he explained to local media earlier.

It remains to be seen what the consequences of this ground management fiasco will be but the situation represents yet another embarrassment to the WICB, which escaped from two similarly shambolic situations previously without sanction from the International Cricket Council.

In 1998, the first Test of the series against England at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica was abandoned after less than an hour’s play when the umpires determined that the pitch conditions were too dangerous for batsmen against fast bowling.

In 2009, the scheduled second Test of the series, also against England, lasted less than two overs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua due to a sandy outfield that made the free movement of fielders and especially the bowlers almost impossible.

In Durban, a wet outfield again prevented play on the fourth day of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand in what is becoming an increasing embarrassment for the hosts.

Heavy rain on Saturday night left the outfield at Kingsmead patchy, muddy and dangerous for the players and no improvement in the situation despite two clear days meant no play for a second successive day.

Despite a gusty wind overnight, wet patches remained and any possibility of play ended after a 2pm inspection, raising questions about a recent decision to relay the outfield. It is also the first ever winter Test in Durban.