Hyderabad: The ways of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) can be best described with the oft-used adage: Better late than never.

Instead of observing a two-minute silence — in memory of those killed in the recent Hyderabad bomb blasts — on the first day of the ongoing Test, the HCA got the players of both the teams together, along with the match officials, to pay respect, before the start of the proceedings on Day II. Something that’s baffling to say, the least.

When queried about the reason for not carrying out the norm on Day I of this Test, HCA secretary MV Sridhar said: “We encountered a few problems while co-ordinating with the BCCI officials. Besides, there were security and other related issues, which resulted in the delay.”

However, another HCA official had a different tale to tell. “Every one was busy with arrangements for the board officials and the Test match. So there was just no time to think about observing a two minutes’ silence,” said.

It appears that the HCA apparently had forgotten about this norm, with its officials busy looking for excuses.