Play abandoned casts a dark cloud over chance to reach ICC final
ENGLAND’S quest for a fourth successive win was thwarted once more by the weather, as the third day of the second Test against Pakistan in Southampton was abandoned without a ball bowled.
With the first innings of the game still incomplete — Pakistan are 223 for nine after choosing to bat on Thursday morning — a draw looks the most probable outcome, damaging England’s chances of putting pressure on India and Australia at the top of the ICC’s World Test Championship.
Only the top two will qualify for the final, currently scheduled for next June — though the coronavirus pandemic may yet force a postponement.
But with 40 points available for each win in this three-match series, England went into it knowing that only a 3-0 victory would allow them to cling on to the coat-tails of the two leaders.
They trail India by 94 points, and Australia by 30, though the Australians have a series in hand. Meanwhile, tough winter assignments against Sri Lanka and India have placed an onus on England to win everything at home — and their set of result this summer already includes defeat by West Indies.
The impasse in this game is likely to leave England 1-0 up going into Friday’s third and final Test here, though the longrange forecast for that game is also mixed.
If their lead remains slender, England will face a tricky decision over which of their bowlers to pick as they look to wrap up their first series victory over Pakistan for a decade.
James Anderson began this biosecure summer expecting to play in only four of the six Tests because of rest and rotation. But in this game he has looked close to his best in returning figures of 24-5-48-3. Since he needs only seven more wickets to become the first seamer in Test history to reach 600, the temptation will be to play him on Friday.
One solution would be for England to leave out off-spinner Dom Bess. That would allow England to recall either Jofra Archer or Mark Wood, and leave the spin bowling in the hands of Joe Root. Equally, they could protect their series lead by
strengthening their batting, which could mean a first Test cap for Gloucestershire’s James Bracey.
For the time being, there was frustration at the Ageas Bowl yesterday when a damp outfield persuaded the umpires there was no chance of play. A lack of wind meant the surface didn’t dry sufficiently.
Bad light was also a factor, but there seemed precious little urgency among the match officials to set the ground staff to work. And when the rain did arrive shortly after 5pm, an abandonment quickly followed.
MS DHONI, India’s most famous cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, has announced his retirement from the international game at the age of 39.
Dhoni’s greatest moment in a 16-year career spanning 90 Tests, 350 one-day and 98 Twenty20 internationals came when he led his country to victory in the 2011 World Cup at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Typically, he sealed the win himself, with a six over long-on off Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Kulasekara — one of 359 he hit for India across the formats.
He also led his side to victory in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, and to the top of the Test rankings for 18 months from the end of 2009 — even if his personal preference was always for the white-ball formats.
Dhoni chose Indian Independence Day to confirm his decision, writing on Instagram: ‘Thanks a lot for your love and support.’ He will continue to captain Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.