LUCKNOW, July 1 -- An alleged administrative delay on the part of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) seems to have halted the laying of the red soil wicket on time at the Kanpur's Green Park Stadium, which is due to host three one-day matches between the A teams of India and South Africa in September-October. One of the oldest Test centres on the list of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Green Park is due to host one-day matches on September 30, October 3 and 5 between the A teams of South Africa and India, and the only red soil wicket is ideal for the game, but the process has been delayed as the UPCA's administration allegedly delayed the payment to one Hitesh Enterprises at Mumbai. Sources confirmed that an order for the supply of 35 tons of red soil was made in early May this year, and UPCA was supposed to make the payment to the company immediately after for timely supply of the red soil. However, one of the top administrative officers in the sporting body kept sitting over this 'deliberately' thus delaying the entire process. Sources also confirmed that the Mumbai-based firm has expressed its inability to supply the soil immediately due to the rainy season. "A city like Mumbai has already been facing a heavy rain and digging of soil and transporting it immediately isn't possible," said a person who is in know of the situation. This delay irked UPCA secretary Arvind Kumar Srivastava and only after his intervention, a sum of Rs 3.5 lakh has recently been released to the firm. "In fact, the administrative officer has nothing to do with cricket as he has no background of sport and was employed with a ticket booking organisation. So, expecting him to think positively for the game isn't possible," said an UPCA official on condition of anonymity on Monday. On being contacted, the UPCA secretary said all efforts were being made for the laying of the red soil pitch at the Green Park Stadium as soon as possible. "It was a long pending demand of players as they get to play on the red soil surface in other parts of the country during the domestic season. After having a red soil surface in Kanpur, they will be better prepared for the matches in other parts of the country," said Srivastava, adding, "It's our responsibility to take care of players and whatever happened in the office regarding this was a routine affair with the administrative officials." It is learnt that the Green Park Stadium has already been facing a lot of criticism for its poor infrastructure since the Test match between India and Bangladesh last October when a poor drainage system abandoned the play on multiple days due to a wet outfield, despite no rain. This caused frustration among fans and experts who questioned the venue's suitability for international cricket. This wasn't all as the ICC awarded Green Park stadium a demerit point for the poor outfield conditions. The incident sparked discussions about the need for better-equipped venues for Test cricket in India, with some suggesting a rotation system for matches. This wasn't all as the public works department also raised concerns about the safety of one of the stands, further highlighting the stadium's infrastructure issues. "In fact, now a few babus kind of people are running the show in the UPCA and that's the reason why there is so much problem at the stadium," said another UPCA insider, preferring anonymity. As far as the laying of red soil pitch is concerned, the black soil pitch No 3 is expected to be replaced by it by digging it for 10 inches, but because of this delay, the laying of new surface will not be possible immediately due to the rainy season. "If they had the red soil on time, they could have done the relaying of it much before the rainy season," said one of the pitch experts in Lucknow. The red soil surface, the expert adds, helps bind the grass well and the surface doesn't get dry even in winters. "The red soil surface has better grass growing capacity, impact of the ball is very good as well as the seam and it also helps pacers do the tricks," he added....