MANCHESTER, England, (CMC) - England’s quest to complete a first Test series whitewash of the West Indies for 76 years suffered a setback when persistent rain forced the abandonment without a ball being bowled of the scheduled second day of the third cricket Test yesterday.
The visitors, already 0-2 down in the four-match duel for the Wisden Trophy, remain at 275 for six and look set to eventually resume their second innings on the third day as the forecast is for much improved weather over the weekend.
Hopes of at least some play on day two were fuelled in mid-afternoon when the rain stopped falling, although the skies over Old Trafford remained completely blanketed by thick grey clouds.
Umpires Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar announced a start for 3:45 p.m. (British Summer Time) only for the showers to return and end the hopes of a crowd that would have been at the absolute capacity of 17 500, but for the depressing weather.
England certainly seemed the keener to get play under way as their squad was on the field long before West Indies in going through their warm-ups in anticipation of the delayed start.
The authorities will attempt to make up for lost time in scheduling a minimum of 105 overs for each of the last three days. It may prove to be enough to still produce a result in this match, although much of that speculation could be rendered irrelevant by the vagaries of the
Mancunian weather.
This is the second consecutive Old Trafford Test involving the West Indies that has been significantly affected by the elements. On the last England tour four years ago, unsettled weather throughout the five days helped the Caribbean side to force a draw after they had trailed by almost 200 runs on first innings.
The hosts went on to win the final two Tests at Headingley and The Oval to take the five-match series 3-1 and regain the Wisden Trophy that had been in West Indian hands since 1973.
Earlier this year, England completed a momentous 3-0 triumph in the West Indies - their first series win there for 36 years.