England’s international summer came to a farcical end in Bristol as their final outing against Ireland was washed out by barely 40 minutes of afternoon rain.
Ben Duckett had just registered his maiden ODI century – a blistering 107 not out from 78 balls, including a 70-ball hundred – in what was a rapid-fire start for England. The hosts were tracking for a possible world record total with 280 for four from 31 overs.
But at 2.48pm in this day-night affair, immediately after the loss of Sam Hain for 17, the rain began to fall on the County Ground, with umpires Mike Burns and Paul Reiffel initially pausing for a few moments despite the ground staff on the boundary’s edge being poised to get to work.
How crucial this delay proved is up for debate but by the time they were called on it was positively rodding down and a battle to get the ground’s slightly rudimentary covers on to the square commenced. Gusty winds only compounded the issue.
Johnny Murphy on refereeing the All-Ireland final: ‘Hand on heart, I was happy with the way it went’
Malachy Clerkin: Ireland can’t afford to miss the women’s Euros - once momentum is lost, it’s hard to get back
The bird-shaped obsession that drives James Crombie, one of Ireland’s best sports photographers
To contest or not to contest? That is the question for Ireland’s aerial game
The upshot was a collection of sodden patches on the outfield – potentially on the pitch, given some of the inspections taking place – and the match being abandoned at 3.21pm. The rain stopped moments after this, followed by patches of sunshine, but a 1-0 series victory for this second-string England had already been confirmed.
The match having passed 30 overs meant no refunds for the poor spectators, unlike those who saw no cricket whatsoever at Headingley last week. Instead they walked away slightly disconsolate and no doubt questioning the sanity of playing this late in the year. Gloucestershire, the hosts, were certainly left red-faced by the scenes. – Guardian
