England V West Indies ODI Delayed Despite Sunshine

A wet outfield delayed the start of the first one-day international between England and West Indies at Old Trafford

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Sept 19, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2017 ) - A wet outfield delayed the start of the first one-day international between England and West Indies at Old Trafford on Tuesday even though the sun had been shining for hours.

The day/night match had been due to start at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) but the umpires were concerned by damp areas near the pitch. They held a further inspection at 1:00 pm to allow more time for the ground to dry.

But they were still not satisfied that conditions were safe and said they would look again at 2:00 pm. While the sun was out, it was not especially strong and there were questions over how much drier the outfield would become in the time between the two inspections.

"We're a little bit concerned as there are a few patches where it's very soft, and the captains share our concerns," said umpire Tim Robinson. "But the sun's coming out and hopefully it will improve," the former England opening batsman explained.

"The ground staff have done a terrific job to get it to this stage. We'll probably put a blanket of sawdust down on those areas." Following their victory in the lone Twenty20 of their tour at a chilly and wet Durham on Saturday, West Indies Twenty20 captain Carlos Brathwaite revealed his side had been close to walking off because of the slippery conditions.

"The umpires clearly don't think it's ready," said former England spinner Vic Marks on BBC Radio's Test Match Special. "We live in a litigious age, and if it's not ready, what about if someone's injured and the umpires are under the pump?" Marks added: "If you do choose to play international matches at this time of year, you do leave yourself open to this sort of nonsense, otherwise you're not going to get a lot of cricket.

"I wasn't at Durham, I'm not sure the West Indies were happy with the conditions there and this may be a hangover from that." This is meant to be England's first ODI match since their eight-wicket Champions Trophy semi-final defeat by eventual tournament winners Pakistan in Cardiff on June.

It's also the first of a five-match series that West Indies need to win 5-0, or 4-0 with a tie or no-result, if they are to gain direct entry for the 2019 World Cup in England. A failure to do so would mean West Indies, the 1975 and 1979 World Cup champions, would have to enter a qualifying tournament instead.

But the odds are stacked against West Indies, who did not feature in the Champions Trophy because they were not ranked among the world's top eight ODI sides. They have lost 12 of their last 13 completed matches against England at this level.