Every game has one or the other sort of result associated with it. The result generally indicates the conclusion of the game irrespective of whether the game has commenced earlier or not.
A Win, Loss, or Tie, are some common types of results which can occur in a game and are easy to identify. Along with these, there are other result statements that do exist as well like Abandoned, No Result, and Draw. Abandoned is a type of result that can occur in both test matches as well as in limited over matches. However, No Result is a type of result that can occur only in a limited over games, and Draw can occur only in test matches.
In the ongoing series between New Zealand and India, the first T20I was an abandoned game, whereas the second ODI was a ‘no result’ game. So, it is a curious case about when to treat a game as abandoned and when to treat it as a no result. For, this we just need to focus only on the limited over format.
In limited over cricket, the result statement can be a win, loss, or a tie only if it constitutes a game. In an ODI, it is necessary for the team batting second to have played or have the opportunity to play at least 20 overs to constitute a game. And, in a T20I, this number is a minimum of 5 overs. For any reason, if it is not possible to meet the above requirement then the game can be concluded as either abandoned or as no result.
Now, the real question is how to choose between these two.
The result of a game is considered as ‘Abandoned’ if the innings of the team batting first have not commenced at all. Whether the toss has taken place or not is immaterial. There is a small result subset under this. If the match is called off after the toss but before the team batting first commences their innings, then the result of the game is treated as ‘abandoned’, and this situation is considered a match played from the statistical perspective for the players who were nominated to play in that game prior to the toss. If the match is called off without going through the process of toss, then the result is treated as ‘abandoned without toss’, and this situation is not considered as a match played from the statistical perspective for any players because nomination doesn’t stand unless the toss is done.
Now, coming to the other result statement, which is ‘no result’, it is necessary to have the innings of the team batting first commenced, and the game ends up as not constituting a game as mentioned above.
It is now clear that the result statements ‘abandoned’ and ‘no result’ can only be used under appropriate conditions and cannot be interchanged.