International cricket Council (ICC) Match Referee Alan Hurst has said that the decision to abandon the match was taken by him, in consultation with the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play. In a statement, he commended the on-field umpires and captains for continuing as long as they did in the hope that the pitch may settle down. Unfortunately, this did not happen. He said before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical, as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared.