"Consistently bad."

That's how Trinidad and Tobago Red Force coach Rayad Emrit summed up the pitch conditions for his team's second-round West Indies Championship clash with the Leeward Islands at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua. Before lunch today, on the third day's play, the match was abandoned as a draw due to what the umpires and match referee deemed to be dangerous pitch conditions.

Just about half an hour into today's action, the game took a drastic twist when Leewards lower-order batsman Jeremiah Louis was struck on the helmet by a nasty bouncer from pacer Jayden Seales, who had taken his seventh wicket of the innings in the previous over. An irate Louis flung his helmet to the ground before kicking it away in frustration. Louis, whose younger brother Mikyle cracked 73 in the Leewards second innings, received treatment from the physio before being stretchered off and taken to the hospital for scans. A Cricket West Indies (CWI) release has since confirmed Jeremiah is in stable condition after being evaluated for a possible concussion.

At that stage, the Leewards were on 140 for seven and had a 96-run lead. However, concerns grew for Louis, as well as the nature of the pitch, as umpires Zahid Bassarath, Leslie Reifer, and match referee Jonathan Blades consulted players and the groundsmen, carefully inspecting the surface. After inspections and tense discussions, which lasted for roughly an hour, the match was abandoned, with both Emrit and Leewards assistant coach Wilden Cornwall relaying their concerns about the pitch.

"It's very disappointing to know the game had to be called off. To be blatantly honest, the pitch has been inconsistent. The bounce has been inconsistent throughout the three days, or two and a half days," Emrit told a member of the commentary team. "It's been inconsistently bad. I don't know why they wait until day three to make this decision.

"For me, if that's the decision, I think it should have been made on day one. It's very disappointing the way they went about making the decision. If I were the Leeward Islands in their position, they probably thought they would have lost the game, so they wouldn't want to go back on the field and play. Which is fair on their part. There should be a cricketing decision, and I don't think a cricketing decision was made today."

Emrit's assessment of the pitch conditions was largely mirrored in the CWI release.

"Play was halted on the first session of the third day after the pitch began to exhibit unpredictable and uneven behaviour, raising concerns for player safety," the CWI release said.

"Following discussions with the curator, it was determined that the pitch could not be safely repaired without creating an unfair advantage and was therefore deemed unfit to resume, resulting in the match being abandoned as a draw."

The release confirmed that both teams would be awarded the points earned up until the game's abandonment. Based on how bonus points are distributed for this year's tournament, the Red Force should receive three bonus points for taking ten wickets in the first innings, while 3.4 fast-bowling points should be on offer largely to the exploits of Seales and Anderson Phillip, who combined for 16 of the team's 17 wickets in the game. The Red Force shot to the top of the table after the first match with the Leewards, as their resounding innings and 271-run win earned them a total of 22.6 points.

Resuming today's play on 136 for six, it took Seales just four balls into his first over of the day to do some damage, as he had Jahmar Hamilton (41) fending off a rising short delivery to Bryan Charles at second slip. In his next over, another rising delivery from Seales turned out to be the final one of the match, as it spat up at Louis from a good length and crashed into his helmet.

At the time of the game's abandonment, Seales was in the middle of his best-ever First-Class spell and had recorded figures of seven for 34.

A disappointed Emrit credited Mikyle and Karima Gore for scoring fighting fifties for the Leewards, while he also commended his captain Joshua Da Silva and top-order batsman Jyd Goolie, who made 51 not out in Red Force's first innings of 175. Goolie was struck on the hand by an Oshane Thomas bumper on day one, and initially retired his innings before returning to hit a well-crafted fifty.

With this second match now in the books, the Red Force will have to dust themselves off before playing the third and final match in the series, which is scheduled to be played at the Antigua Recreation Ground from April 26.

With this year's West Indies Championship final scheduled to be played at the Sir Vivian Richards venue from May 17-20, the CWI release said "all necessary resources and expertise will be deployed to ensure the preparation of a safe and competitive playing surface for that fixture."

CWI said it will continue to prioritize player safety while ensuring the highest standard of pitch preparation across all venues.

Summarised Scores:

LEEWARD ISLANDS HURRICANES - 131 (Karima Gore 57, Jeremiah Louis 19, Kadeem Henry 13; Anderson Phillip 6/38, Jayden Seales 3/33) & 140/7 (Mikyle Louis 73, Jahmar Hamilton 41; J Seales 7/34) vs TT RED FORCE - 175 (Jyd Goolie 51, Joshua Da Silva 36, Evin Lewis 18; Kelvin Pitman 6/52, Oshane Thomas 3/52). Match abandoned.