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Scorecard A strong bowling effort from Canterbury ensured they beat Wellington by 61 runs in Christchurch to book a place in the Ford Trophy final against Auckland on March 31. Canterbury elected to bat, but lost both their openers with just 36 on the board in the seventh over. Henry Nicholls and Tom Latham combined for a 43-run stand to help keep the innings going. Contributions from Latham (44), Andrew Ellis (35), and Ronnie Hira (23) helped push the score to 198, before the team was dismissed in the 46th ov bowlers were chiefly responsible for restricting their run rate, with Luke Woodcock and Scott Kuggleijn picked up three wickets each for Wellington.Wellington’s chase began abjectly, as they were reduced to 10 for 3 by the new-ball attack of Ryan McCone and Matt Henry. The three batsmen that fell were Luke Ronchi, Michael Papps and Jesse Ryder, all big wickets in their own right. James Franklin and Grant Elliot put together a 57-run stand, before Franklin was bowled by Henry. The pitch at this point, which was coined the “snakepit” by the Canterbury fielders, began to show some bite, as it became tougher to bat on. Grant Elliot’s patient innings of 63 off 108 was the only real source of resistance, as the rest of the order succumbed to Canterbury’s bowlers. Henry picked up 4 for 14, while McCone picked up 3 for 25, as Wellington were dismissed for 137.

ScorecardVarun Chopra struck his 11th first-class century•PA Photos

The annexing of the Champion County match to the Emirates has marginalised its use as a proper warm-up for the County Championship but Varun Chopra and Will Porterfield will take confidence from a pair of centuries on the official opening day of the new season.The fixture will return to Lord’s in 2014 where a stand of 308 will be trickier to compile than the four-an-over stand Chopra and Porterfield put together for the second wicket this year.Porterfield’s innings, from 240 balls, was his first three-figure effort since joining Warwickshire, taking full advantage of a flat pitch and an attack toiling in temperatures more than 20 degrees warmer than Britain.Chopra had been the first to reach a century, his 11th in first-class cricket, from 165 balls. He went on to score 20 fours and three sixes – the pick of which was lifted over long on from a Peter Trego slower ball.”It was a great start to the season for me,” Chopra said. “The wicket was good and we made the most of winning the toss on a decent deck. Playing under the floodlights and with the pink ball was fine. Having two set batsmen definitely helped, especially during the twilight period, which can be a challenge, but I really enjoyed it out there today.”The treble century stand was by some distance the highest partnership of any wicket for Warwickshire against MCC. It came after Ian Westwood fell without a run on the board. He skied a pull from Trego and was taken at midwicket. But that was the most joy MCC enjoyed as their spin trio of Simon Kerrigan, James Middlebrook and part-time leg-spinner Dawid Malan failed to find any control as runs flowed merrily.Kerrigan eventually broke through when Chopra mistimed an attempted lofted off drive. Porterfield also fell playing in the air, driving loosely on the up to hand third seamer Chris Rushworth a wicket. But it was 102 runs later than it should have been; Rushworth having had Porterfield dropped in the slips on 60.

Dirk Nannes, the Australian left-arm fast bowler, has signed for Glamorgan as an overseas player in this year’s Friends Life t20 competition.Nannes is the world’s leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 and Matthew Mott, the head of elite performance at Glamorgan, has hailed the signing as “gold dust” for the county.”He was on the radar for a number of clubs and we are very happy to have secured his signature,” Mott said. “We were looking for a strike and death bowler because they are like gold dust in T20 cricket. He is still one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket, and I am sure he will excite the public when he comes tearing in for Glamorgan.”Nannes has emerged as the archetypal freelance T20 specialist over the last couple of years. Now aged 36, he has given up first-class and List A cricket in order to specialise and extend his T20 career. He has already represented Middlesex (2008), Nottinghamshire (2010) and Surrey (2011-12) in the county game.But he stands out as one of he few cricketers to regularly appear in nearly all of the T20 tournaments around the world. In the last 12 months he has appeared in the Bangladesh Premier League (for Sylhet Royals), the Big Bash League (for Sydney Thunder), New Zealand’s HRV Cup (for Canterbury), the Sri Lanka Premier League (for Basnahira Cricket Dundee) and in the Champions League (for Lions). He also had an IPL deal with Bangalore but didn’t play a match.”Dirk is vastly experienced in this format and a proven performer,” Mott said. “With his experience of the competitions across the world, he will also provide a great deal of firepower and intimidation to our bowling unit.”Dirk has also expressed he would love to be involved with the club and utilise our facilities throughout the year. This will be invaluable for our bowling group to be able to tap into his vast experience and see how he prepares.”Nannes added: “I’ve enjoyed spells in county cricket and around the world,” Nannes said. “I am looking forward to coming over and playing for Glamorgan this summer. I’d like to think I can share my experience with the lads and be someone who can take crucial wickets for the team.”

Which players are going to be a part of the 2013 IPL auction?
The 2013 IPL auction will feature new names as well as those cricketers who were let go by the franchises when they announced a list of players they had retained and released in keeping with the October 31, 2012, deadline.The original Hyderabad-based franchise, Deccan Chargers, was terminated from the IPL in October. That led to a new team, SunRisers Hyderabad, being formed, and they retained 20 players from the Chargers franchise and released the remaining 13.How much money can the teams spend at the auction?
Each franchise can spend up to $12.5 million on their 2013 squad. The franchises have already spent a portion of that sum on the players they retained in November 2012, and on the ones they traded/signed in the transfer window that closed on January 18. The franchises can now spend the remainder of the amount during the auction.In 2008, every franchise had $5 million as the auction purse. In 2011, that was increased to $9 million. But there was no restriction on what was spent outside of the auction and, last year, there were few high-value trades outside of the auction – for example Dinesh Karthik went from Kings XI Punjab to Mumbai Indians for a million. Subsequently, many franchises complained about the big money being spent outside of the auction purse. So the IPL decided that this year, instead of just regulating the amount being spent at the auction, they would set a consolidated sum of $12.5 million for the franchises’ entire 2013 squads.For how long will the players, who are bought on Sunday, be able to play for the franchise that buys them?
The players signed on Sunday will be available to play for their respective franchises only in this year’s IPL.The contracts of the players who are already with franchises will also end this year. When the players were signed in 2011, the contracts were for two years with the option of extending them for an extra year. The 2014 auction will see more players being auctioned as new contracts will be signed.Is there a cap on the maximum amount a franchise can bid for any player, and will there be a tie-breaker this year too?
In effect, there is no cap on bids for any player. The teams can spend whatever amount they want on procuring a player, based on how much of their $12.5 million purse they have remaining.Yes, the tie-breaker rule still exists. As per this rule, if two franchises submitted the same maximum bid for the same player, they must then submit a cheque with an undisclosed amount to the BCCI – this money comes from outside of the $12.5 million purse. The franchise whose cheque offers the higher amount gets the player and the undisclosed amount goes to the BCCI.How many players in total, and overseas players, can each franchise have?
Each franchise can have a total of 33 players, including 11 from overseas. The squad size was increased from 30 to 33 before the 2012 IPL auction. When it was 30, 20 Indian and 10 overseas players were allowed. However, in the final XI, only four overseas players can be included.Can overseas players be bought outside the auction?
Under normal circumstances, overseas players, whether capped or uncapped, can be bought only at the auction. However, in case of injuries cropping up in a squad, the franchise has the right to sign an overseas player outside the auction as a replacement.In the case of Indian players, uncapped players are signed outside the auction. Capped players, on the other hand, have to be signed at the auction. Capped Indian players can be bought outside the auction only if they are released by a franchise during the trading window. For example, Abhinav Mukund, who has played five Tests, was released by Chennai Super Kings in November and signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in January.What are capped and uncapped players?
A capped player is one who has played international cricket for his country in any format of the game: Tests, ODIs or Twenty20s. An uncapped player is one who is yet to make his international debut.Why was the Deccan Chargers franchise terminated?
The Deccan Chargers franchise was terminated in October 2012 after its owners, Deccan Chronicles Holdings Limited (DCHL), failed to produce the bank guarantee that the Bombay High Court had stipulated they furnish in order to avoid termination from the league.The franchise had defaulted on several fronts (including payments to players and foreign boards) after DCHL ran into financial problems. The BCCI, subsequently, had set a deadline of September 15, 2012, for the owners to clear all dues. Since the owners were unable to sort out their financial problems, they put the franchise up for sale. They then rejected the sole bid they received, and were unable to offer viable a solution, which eventually led to their termination.Why is there a new franchise from the same city as Deccan Chargers, instead of from a different city?
Once Chargers were terminated, the BCCI invited bids for a new IPL franchise from one of 12 cities, including Hyderabad. The Sun TV Network won the bid, offering Rs 85.05 crores per year for a five-year deal, for a Hyderabad-based franchise.

ScorecardServices retained their position at the top of the table, knocking off the remaining 63 runs with no difficulty at the Palam A Ground. Services had lost four wickets overnight, with the experienced Yashpal Singh unbeaten on 40. Yashpal went on to score 61 and had all but taken his team past the finish line. Rajat Paliwal steered the side home with an unbeaten 47.
ScorecardKerala recorded their first win of the season, drubbing bottom-placed Tripura by an innings and 77 runs in Agartala. Tripura were fighting to save the game going into the final day, having lost three wickets overnight needing 203 to make Kerala bat again. Seamer Sandeep Warrier, who took five wickets in the second innings, got rid of Abhijit Dey and Ajay Ratra off successive balls. When Abbas Ali fell the following over, Tripura had lost three wickets for no runs and were staring at an imminent defeat at 85 for 6. Kerala’s victory charge was delayed by Manisankar Murasingh, who made an attacking 67 at No. 9. U Manikrishnan rounded off the match when he bowled Rana Dutta to finish with nine wickets in the match. Sreesanth, returning to first-class cricket after injury, took two wickets in the match.
ScorecardGoa gained first-innings points in a draw against Himachal Pradesh in Porvorim. The chance of a result seemed unlikely on the third day itself, when Goa edged past Himachal’s 338 with two innings yet to be completed. Goa didn’t add to their overnight lead of nine, losing their last two wickets early. Rahul Singh finished with five wickets, while Vikramjeet Malik took 3 for 61. Himachal helped themselves to some batting practice, as Paras Dogra scored his fifth century of the Ranji season. Mukesh Sharma made an unbeaten 51. Both teams are yet to register a win in the tournament.
ScorecardThe match at Dhanbad too ended in a draw with Andhra picking up first-innings points. Akash Verma and Saurabh Tiwary scored half-centuries to take Jharkhand to 295 for 9 before the declaration. Verma fell for 82, while Tiwary fell just one short of scoring two tons in the same match. Shaik Basha, the offspinner, took 6 for 74. With little time left in the game to force a result, it was up to Jharkhand to muster as much as they could. They declared, setting a target of 143, and Andhra lost four wickets inside ten overs.

ScorecardA combined bowling effort by Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and centuries from Imran Nazir, Haris Sohail and Sharjeel Khan took them to a commanding innings-and-256-run win against United Bank Limited in Islamabad. After amassing 643 for 6 at 5.63 runs per over, ZTBL bowled their opponents out twice cheaply to claim the win.After being put in to bat, ZTBL began positively through a 112-run stand between the openers. After three further partnerships of over 50 each, two big ones of 190 and 158 for the fifth and sixth wickets took them towards the huge total on the second day. Opener Sharjeel scored 141 off 131 balls, Sohail scored 152, and captain Nazir smashed 185 off 152 deliveries with 24 boundaries and two sixes.United Bank replied poorly, after a decent start through a half-century from opener Imran Ali. But, at 112 for 2, they lost quick wickets, and were soon struggling at 140 for 8. Left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil and spinner Zohaib Khan took three wickets each. After following on, fast bowlers Junaid Nadir, Junaid Zia and Zohaib ran through the line-up to bowl them out for 208 on the final day. Middle-order batsman Osama Shah was the only one who put up a resistance, scoring an unbeaten 58.
ScorecardIn a low-scoring match in Rawalpindi, a crucial 96 by Saeed Anwar jnr and eight wickets from seamer Ali Khan provided Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) with a comprehensive ten-wicket victory against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), their fourth win this season. After Ali and seamer Mohammad Irfan ran through NBP’s line-up, sharing nine wickets to bowl them out for 124, Anwar led KRL to 239, and a combined bowling effort again bowled NBP out cheaply. This shifted the contest in KRL’s favour, and they completed the win by chasing 39 down in 3.5 overs on the third day.NBP, batting first, kept losing wickets to the two seamers Ali and Irfan, and were soon in deep trouble at 44 for 8. But middle-order batsman Anwaar Hafeez struck important stands with the batsmen at No. 10 and No. 11 to manage to lift his team past the 100-run mark.KRL’s innings wasn’t authoritative, but in the midst of wickets falling there were some crucial knocks played. Four batsmen contributed over 20 each, but it was No. 3 Anwar’s 96 that allowed them to gain a lead of 115 runs. Fast bowler Imran Khan and spinner Qaiser Abbas took four wickets each. NBP tried to repair the damage done by their low first-innings total by setting up a base for a strong second innings. They were going well when the openers put on 50 runs, but then three wickets fell without a run being scored. At 61 for 4, a 75-run partnership followed. At 136 for 4, the stand was broken and NBP lost their final six wickets for 15 runs. This time, Rahat Ali, Ali and Tayyab Riaz shared the wickets as NBP set them a target of 37.
Scorecard Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), after dominating the contest against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in Islamabad, settled for a draw. Their first innings revolved around wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan’s century, and then they crushed their opponents through fast bowlers Samiullah Khan and Bilawal Bhatti, who took eight wickets together. SNGPL dominated the second innings too, but no play was possible on the final day and the match was drawn.Fielding first, SBP took wickets regularly to peg SNGPL back; apart from Rizwan, no one scored more than 28. But Rizwan’s 136 took them past the 300-run mark, courtesy of a sixth-wicket partnership of 88 runs. SBP didn’t have a batsman who could play a responsible innings, though, as Samiullah and Bhatti ran through the line-up. Opener Kashif Siddiq was the top scorer with 39. Umar Akmal, for SNGPL, scored a half-century as his team consolidated on the lead. But due to no play on the fourth day, the match was drawn. SNGPL, who gained three points from the game, top the table and are through to the final.
ScorecardCenturies from Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) Shoaib Khan snr and Faisal Iqbal forced a draw out of a contest mostly dominated by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). PIA were heading towards a defeat after they folded for 94 in their first innings; spinner Zulfiqar Babar took five wickets and Naved-ul-Hasan claimed three. They then bowled WAPDA out for 209, and chasing a stiff 356 to win, managed to reach 291 for 5 as the match was drawn.WAPDA’s first innings was based on a century by middle-order batsman Saad Nasim, and a half-century by Shoaib Maqsood. None of the other batsmen scored more than 19 runs as WAPDA were bowled out for 240 on the second day. Fast bowler Anwar Ali took five wickets.A collective bowling performance helped them bowl PIA out for 94. PIA, at 83 for 3, lost seven wickets for 11 runs to concede a 146-run lead. They bounced back to bowl WAPDA out for 209. Their chase was off to a poor start as seamer Junaid Khan had reduced PIA to 39 for 4. But a 250-run stand between Shoaib and Faisal avoided defeat.
ScorecardHabib Bank Limited, the team to make the finals, played out a draw against Port Qasim Authority (PQA) at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad. Umar Amin scored 281, his highest in first-class cricket, and captain Khalid Latif made 128 as PQA, batting first, amassed 675 for 6 before declaring their innings on the third day. Habib Bank replied equally strongly, but no one scored a century.Opener Imran Farhat scored 97 and his partner Shan Masood was unbeaten on 58. At 198 for 2 on the final day, both teams settled for a draw.

England could be putting themselves at a disadvantage in international cricket by applying different testing procedures to bowlers with suspect actions than other international teams.An investigation by ESPNcricinfo has unearthed important differences in the testing procedures and found that the ICC do not currently recognise the results of the tests conducted by the ECB. Instead, any England international in men’s or women’s cricket is obliged to travel to the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth for definitive testing. Jenny Gunn was the last player required to make the journey.With England’s batsmen struggling to come to terms with the emergence of “mystery” spin at international level, the chances of their batsmen being exposed to similar bowling at domestic level may be rendered less likely by what seems to be a stance – if not an officially-stated policy – in favour of what are regarded as purer, more traditional actions.After a tormented year against spin bowlers in Asia, they depart for India on Wednesday for a four-Test series and two Twenty20s before Christmas with five ODIs to follow in the new year.Young England-qualified bowlers attempting to bowl in the style of Saeed Ajmal or Muttiah Muralitharan are highly likely to find themselves reported for illegal actions, leaving English cricket reliant on orthodoxy just as the rest of the world embrace innovation. There are currently no bowlers in English domestic cricket regularly delivering the “doosra”. The last to do so, Maurice Holmes, left the game at the end of the 2011 season after the ECB warned him not to use the delivery.The ECB outsource their testing procedure to experts in the school of Sport, Exercise and Health Science at Loughborough University. Dr Mark King, a senior lecturer and the man who runs the testing procedure for the ECB, believes his methodology, which differs from the ICC-approved method, provides more accurate results. While the ECB have asked for the Loughborough tests to mirror those of the ICC, King refuses to oblige.”I have refused to copy the University of Western Australia approach because I feel it is not as accurate,” King told ESPNcricinfo. “We think our approach is more appropriate. I feel the ECB have their house in order on this issue. We have published a validation of our procedure and we do not believe UWA have.”King’s research was published in Issue 30 of The Journal of Sports Science. The piece is called: Quantifying elbow extension and hyper-extension; a case study of Jenny Gunn.The current testing procedure in both Perth and Loughborough involves placing reflective markers at key points on the cricketers’ bodies and measuring the movement after the players have been filmed bowling. The difference comes in where the markers are placed.”At UWA they place the sensors over soft tissue, while we place them over the joints,” Dr King said. “And if you put the sensors in different places – wrong places – you end up with different numbers. You end up with wrong answers.”The ICC do not fund our research, but they have encouraged us to continue our work,” King said. “We hope that, in the next six months or so, we’ll be able to publish a follow-up paper that provides further evidence.””The ICC are trying to do the right things. It is just that there is some discrepancy between the methods we apply. We continue to do what we do and the ICC are comfortable with what UWA do.”The ICC also admitted that the ECB’s tests were different, though they disputed the suggestion that they were necessarily more stringent.”It would be wrong to say that the results are more stringent,” a spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “The current regulations are based on the University of Western Australia’s methods and measurements so any change to that would require different parameters.”King reiterated that view. “No-one has demonstrated that the numbers are bigger or smaller with our methods or the UWA methods,” King said. “The numbers are different, yes, but not necessarily bigger.”A quick glance at the actions of young England-qualified spinners compared to those from other countries suggests this is more than an academic distinction, however. While young spinners in Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan and India are encouraged to improvise, the Loughborough testing method could well be another impediment to the development of England-qualified mystery spinners.Pitches that favour seam bowlers – and pitch penalties imposed if they favour spinners – coaches that distrust new methods and umpires that are rooted in the past may all be unwittingly conspiring to hold back English cricket as it attempts to cope with the emergence of unorthodox spin bowling.The ECB initially provided a statement insisting that their testing procedure was “identical” to the ICC’s but then withdrew the claim after being presented with the evidence in this article. They have yet to accept that their methodology places them at a disadvantage.

ScorecardEngland Women once again proved a class apart as they destroyed West Indies by 84 runs to move one step closer to a series whitewash. Victory in the final match at Arundel will seal the 5-0 win.The win at Hove came courtesy of a stranglehold in the field as only Stefanie Taylor got into double figures. She made 40 from 56 balls opening the batting but that was the only innings that remotely took the attack to the England bowlers. Danni Hazel picked up four wickets, leading England’s spin assault that gave away nothing as 14 overs of slow bowling were sent down.By contrast England found little trouble scoring and racked up nearly an eight-per-over target. Lydia Greenway led the way with 61 in 45 balls with seven fours, sharing a partnership of 98 with Sarah Taylor, whose own contribution was 43 in 36 balls.”It’s been another great team performance today,” Greenway said. “Charlotte and Laura got us off to a good start and everyone coming in knew what they had to do. I was really pleased to contribute and to play positively today, it was good to get out there and get some runs under my belt. I always enjoy batting with Sarah Taylor and today we rotated the strike well.”We were comfortable with the target we set and our bowlers once again put in an excellent performance, all executing their plans to restrict West Indies.”

ScorecardAndre Adams was bowling with an injury but managed two wickets•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire, looking for their second LV= County Championship title in three seasons, were second best against title outsiders Somerset on the third day of the rain-affected match at Taunton.The visitors were bowled out for 152 and then their threadbare attack was punished by James Hildreth (63 not out) and Jos Buttler (39), who put on 91 for the fourth wicket. Hildreth hit 11 fours while Buttler had five fours and also hit Graeme Swann for six over mid-on. Somerset closed on 187 for 6, a lead of 31.Nottinghamshire were compromised by the absence of their most effective bowler, Andre Adams, and their left-arm paceman Harry Gurney. Gurney went off with a leg injury after bowling six overs and Adams, who tweaked a hamstring, limped through 14 overs before hobbling off. Adams also dropped Hildreth, on 16, at midwicket off Swann – who took the wicket of Peter Trego before the close.Somerset had lost Marcus Trescothick to a second ball duck. But, earlier, Trescothick the fielder had a better time of it. His five catches at second slip equalled the county record for an outfielder. The visitors, who started the day on 48 for 3, lost six more wickets in the morning session before being bowled out 15 minutes after lunch in just 54.4 overs.In the second over of the day, Adam Voges pushed at a delivery that swung away and Trescothick took his first catch of the morning. Nottinghamshire were in trouble but captain Chris Read played a typical, counter-attacking innings, while James Taylor dug in.Read hooked Gemaal Hussain for six to raise the half-century stand in nine overs and, next ball, lofted the bowler over mid-on for four to bring up the 100. At 120 for 4 Abdur Rehman, who was making his Championship debut for Somerset, came into the attack and took a wicket with his second ball.Rehman bowled a ball of full length to Taylor who attempted to sweep and was given out leg before wicket. Read cut Rehman for successive boundaries to reach 50 from 63 balls, with 10 fours, but then he edged Hussain to Trescothick. It was the start of a collapse which saw Nottinghamshire lose their last five wickets for 14 runs.Hussain, who had looked harmless at the river end, where he bowled three overs for 23 runs, switched to the old pavilion end where he had figures of 6-4-6-4. Swann was one of his wickets, edging a loose drive to give Trescothick his fifth catch.

ScorecardSussex took control of their Championship Division One game with Durham, reducing the visitors to 92 for 4 before rain forced an early close at Arundel.That score represented a minor recovery for bottom-of-the-table Durham, who have yet to record a four-day win this season, after James Anyon had taken two wickets with successive balls to reduce them to one for two in the third over. Mark Stoneman struck a half-century but he was removed by Monty Panesar shortly before the lunch interval to put the hosts back in the ascendancy.Although Durham’s new captain Paul Collingwood had recovered from a broken hand to lead the side his luck did not hold at the toss and his batsmen soon found it a struggle in overcast, damp conditions after they were put in.In his second over Anyon made the breakthrough when Will Smith fenced outside off stump and Mike Yardy dived to his left at second slip to take an excellent catch. Gordon Muchall lost his off stump to the next delivery driving airily but Ben Stokes did manage to avert the hat-trick.Stokes was soon timing the ball sweetly and had hit four boundaries in his 20 when Steve Magoffin was rewarded for an excellent new-ball spell with a wicket in his seventh over. He tempted Stokes with extra width and his full-blooded drive was intercepted in front of his face by Yardy in the slips.That left Durham 34 for 3 but opener Stoneman, who made a century in the equivalent fixture last season, and the experienced Dale Benkenstein staged a decent recovery with a stand of 50 in 13 overs.Stoneman timed the ball crisply, accelerating to his second half-century of the season with a flurry of seven boundaries in 20 balls when Luke Wright and Kirk Wernars, who was making his first championship appearance of the season, came into the attack. But shortly after reaching his half-century off 80 deliveries with nine fours Stoneman, who had taken two boundaries off Panesar in his first over, missed an attempted pull at the left-arm spinner and was leg before.There was just enough time for Collingwood to get off the mark with a boundary through the covers when rain forced the players off five minutes before lunch with 27.4 overs bowled. Umpires Nigel Llong and Neil Mallender made three afternoon inspections in the hope of making a resumption but further rain forced them to abandon the day’s play shortly after 4pm.