Third day of England's second Test against Pakistan completely washed out
Bad weather continued to dog the second Test between England and Pakistan on Saturday as a combination of bad light and drizzle wiped out all three sessions on the third day at the Rose Bowl.
Only 86 of a possible 180 overs were bowled on the first two days as Pakistan, batting first, reached 223-9 with Mohammad Rizwan unbeaten on 60. With more bad weather forecast, a draw was quickly emerging as the most likely result.
Play was finally abandoned for the day at 5.15pm, bringing a dispiriting end to a frustrating third day.
England lead 1-0 in the three-match series.
Reuters
04:17 PMStumps, day three
Stumps, day three
It's all over. It's raining in Southampton and they have decided enough is enough.
Day three of the second Test will pass without a ball being bowled.
03:50 PMUpdate
Update
There will be another inspection at 5.15pm.
They're hanging on in there.
03:40 PMNo sign of any play
No sign of any play
This is looking like today could be a total washout.
Umpires now debating whether there'll be another inspection.
02:45 PMUpdate
Update
No play for a while, with another inspection to come at 4.15pm.
The fact another inspection will be happening so soon suggests there is hope we might get some play, today - but I might be clutching at straws...
02:34 PMInspection ongoing
Inspection ongoing
We will bring you the latest news as soon as we have it.
01:50 PMSome news... at last
Some news... at last
There will be an inspection at 3.30pm.
More as it comes in.
01:02 PMUpdate
Update
More of the same, I'm afraid.
No start time in sight - and still a dreary scene in Southampton.
12:15 PMLunch
Lunch
They have taken the usual 1pm lunch in Southampton, with the first session a write-off.
Bet they're all ravenous.
11:51 AMNo sign of any play soon
No sign of any play soon
Reports suggest that a number have players have even returned to the hotel.
Although the forecast for this afternoon is mildly improved, there is surely a chance we might not get any play today at all...
11:14 AMThe covers are still on
The covers are still on
There is no confirmed start time as of yet.
More delays. Frustrating. The forecast has improved marginally for the afternoon, however, so let's keep everything crossed.
10:51 AMUpdate
Update
Still no good news to bring, I'm afraid.
No sign of an imminent start and it still looks very gloomy in Southampton.
10:08 AMA (slightly depressing) update
A (slightly depressing) update
It's still raining and there's no sign of any play any time soon - we will keep you posted on an updated start time.
09:52 AMA bit gloomy
A bit gloomy
The 11am start has been abandoned. More news as we have it.
This is the scene in Southampton - not particularly conducive to cricket.
09:34 AMBad news
Bad news
No easy way to put this, but the covers are still on, the floodlights are on, the Ageas Bowl looks very gloomy, the players are playing football on the outfield, and an 11am start looks immensely unlikely.
Oh, and it is currently raining, too.
We will keep you updated with all the latest here.
09:32 AMPre-match reading
Pre-match reading
Our Chief Cricket Correspondent, Scyld Berry, has written about the dearth of spin, and how it has removed a spectacle from this summer's cricket.
It was lovely to have the rich sauce of Yasir Shah to go with the pasta in the first Test against Pakistan, but so far in the second it has been back to the same old diet. And Joe Root would be wrong to do anything else except bang away with his four swing-and-seamers; everything is stacked in their favour from the conditions to the Dukes ball, which has swung right up to the 80th over, so expert have England become at using sweat to shine one side.
09:18 AMAnd over to Charles for the weather...
And over to Charles for the weather...
Thanks, Charles.
I'm not really too sure I'm qualified for this, so thank goodness for the Met Office.
Positives? Clutching at straws, I suppose, but no significant chance of rain until 2pm bodes well. Otherwise, it all looks a bit dreary...
09:08 AMGood morning
Good morning
Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport's live coverage of day three of the soggy second Test between England and Pakistan, at Southampton's Ageas Bowl.
I'm sorry to have to play Michael Fish, but the weather and, as a consequence, bad light are becoming increasingly decisive in this match. With two days of the Test already having passed, England are yet to pick up their bats. Pakistan sit on a modest-but-solid 223-9, with impressive contributions from Babar Azam (47) and Mohammad Rizwan (60*), as they battled back from 158-6.
After two days battling the elements England and Pakistan will be hoping conditions relent long enough to accelerate the match today.
The forecast continues to be mixed but England will have designs of working towards a workable first-innings lead, while Pakistan's best route to victory involves more overcast conditions, seam, swing and a flurry of quick wickets.
The decision to call off Friday's play due to the failing light was doubtless an unpopular one - though the rancour was channelled predominantly on social media due to the empty stands - but might have aided England.
Openers Dom Sibley and Rory Burns cannot have fancied taking guard under the thick, grey clouds that hovered overhead for the duration of the second day but they will soon face a reckoning with the likes of Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi on a surface with plenty to offer.
Stuart Broad, who matched James Anderson's three-wicket haul, defended the judgement of Michael Gough and Richard Kettleborough, who led the teams off just nine balls into the evening session .
"It's a tricky one because player safety is very important. If you have bowlers bowling at 85mph-plus and it's gloomy out there, it can be dangerous for batsmen," he said.
"The officials were right to bring us off, it had dropped below the darkness that we had come off for earlier in the day and all of our fielders were saying, 'we wouldn't want to bat in this, this is quite dark'.
"There's been occasions in Test cricket when there's been a crowd and we thought we could have been on the pitch but it felt slightly on the dark side of being suitable to play."
Broad continued: "We've seen with the history of the pink ball under lights, it's been very tricky for the batsmen and would be unfair to the balance to the game," he said.
"You could lose five for 10 that's going too far and complicating the situation. If the players' safety is in doubt, the officials have to bring them off. If they think it's safe, you play."
