They said what ...

Michael Atherton: "It was clear before the game that the pitch was uneven and corrugated and it was only going to get worse. The umpires took the decision to call it off and I think it was the right decision. The pitch was dangerous. The safety of the players was paramount. The senior umpire was in constant touch with the match referee. I was called out and had a chat with Brian Lara, and the officials. Both captains said that conditions were unfit for Test cricket. I don't want to get into worst pitches, but I repeat it was dangerous. That's why the decision was taken."

Alec Stewart: "When you were batting there were balls doing more than they should have done. You knew you were going to take hits. It was just a case of when and how many."

Ian Botham: "The pitch is not worthy of international cricket. It's a disgrace. Someone is going to get seriously hurt."

Wayne Morton (England physio): "There was a bit of war out there and you always fear for a batsman's safety. You don't often see too many apologies from West Indian fast bowlers but they seemed pretty embarrassed by it. It was a very busy morning, possibly the busiest I've ever known. You always fear for batsmen's faces, particularly on a wicket behaving like it seemed to be doing this morning. There are medals for bravery to be taken, but at the end of the day we want to play on a level playing field. I'm not too keen on losing players with fractured digits or serious injuries every morning."

Brian Lara: "Cricket has to be played on a fair surface."

Michael Holding: "I've never seen a pitch as dangerous as that. The people responsible should be brought to task. This pitch isn't fit for Test cricket or even club cricket for that matter. It's completely substandard. Our fast bowlers don't want to seriously injure anyone at all. It's an embarrassment."

Barry Jarman (match referee): "Venkat got in touch with me and said, 'What do you think?' I said, 'I think it's horrific.' I told him, 'You do what you want to do and you'll get support from me.' I spoke to Mike and Brian and they said, 'We both agree it's too dangerous and someone's going to get seriously hurt'. The pitch is just nowhere near up to standard."