Andy Bull's report
Well, what a damp squib. The players are shaking hands, the umpires are heading off for a cup of tea and the crowd are grumpily heading for the tube. That’s it from me - do join Scott Murray for Ajax v Tottenham here:
Match abandoned
That’s it! It’s been called - the outfield is unfit: match abandoned.
Updated
The umpires are still peering at the outfield, noses upturned, frowns downturned. The rope is whizzing around it, to no great purpose, and some of the England players are having a bit of a wander about. But no news as to any start time.
There are some players on the pitch, they don’t think it’s all over.
If this does get started for 7.45pm, and Pakistan face their one over, what are the chances of there then being a 20 minute break between innings and it starting to rain again? I’m saying there’s a high chance.
Yeah, so that 7pm start isn’t happening. Gah.
Good news! It’s not raining and the covers are off. Bad news! The umpires are prodding at the outfield un-optimistically with certain corners of the ground looking very damp. It’s not on the run-ups but perhaps there are fears for the fielders’ safety (or indeed for the ground this close to the World Cup). We need to be under way by 7.45pm for there to be a game - that would mean Pakistan facing one over, before England chasing a DLS target in 20 overs.
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More from our man on the scene:
There's a steward who's giving it the full Dancin' Homer when the rope comes round the outfield @tombry. Seeing that he's already in Capital City, he's unlikely to get the big break. They should play Baby Elephant Walk over the PA though - God knows they've played everything else
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) May 8, 2019
Things are looking up. Most of the covers are off, the umpires are looking optimistic (though one is carrying an umbrella) and skies are blue(ish). A 7pm start is still on the cards.
Whether it’s raining in Amsterdam or not, it seems likely they’ll get the Champions League semi-final under way. Join Scott Murray here for the latest:
Gary Naylor has been at the Oval since 9am but appears remarkably sober. He writes: “It hasn’t rained for long, nor has it rained much. It’s hard to fault the groundstaff or the attitude of umpires and players, and yet 19 overs seems a very meagre return for the public. I guess it’s just one of those things.”
Inspection at 6.40pm BST
Inspection news. The umpires will inspect the pitch again at 6.40pm, aiming for a 7pm start. The ground staff are milling about the place encouragingly but the skies are still a bit threatening.
Updated
It seems likely, though not inevitable, that this will be turned into a 20-overs-a-side game. So Pakistan will have one over in which to go tonto, before England reply to their 19 overs of medium-paced batting and over of turbo-charge. Seems a bit unfair on the visitors. That said, under lights, dark skies and with moisture in the air, there’s a good chance the white ball will dart about all over the place this evening, so that might even things up a tad. More info when/if we get it ...
Evening all, what a disappointing day. The umpires are poking about at the pitch as we speak, but the covers are laid out across almost all of the square. There don’t appear to be any umbrellas up in the crowd, but neither are burly blokes in shorts and Surrey ground staff tops removing any plastic so play appears some way off.
That’s probably quite enough from me. It’s over to Tom Bryant now who will either describe what’s left of this game, or take you through blokes peering at wet grass until they say we can all go home. Send your emails to Tom.Bryant@theGuardian.com, or tweet @TomBry
The umpires seem to be inspecting, but the bad news is that a few covers that had been removed, now look like they’re being put back. Ach. The consensus is that we need to start again by 7.45pm for a legitimate game.
Hmmm, the sky over the Oval is bloody dark, even if the optimistic take is that the worst will miss the ground. Inspection still scheduled for 6pm.
Of course, we need 20 overs per side to constitute a proper game. Pakistan have seen 19, so given the latest that a full game could have started was 6.15pm, at a rough guess I’d say they will need to be on the field by about 7.30pm, with no more interruptions. It’s the latter part that’s the problem: at this point I’d say the prospects of a completed game can be filed under ‘optimistic’.
The sun is now very much out at the Oval but half the sky’s water has been dumped on the field, and even with the ground’s terrific drainage there’s still some mopping up to do. The umpires are thus going to wait until 6pm to inspect, so you would think that the absolute earliest we’ll get more play is 6.15.
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This rain delay is getting a bit much for some people. “I AM hjihurujjjju rh,” writes one reader, who I won’t identify in case he was doing something untoward while typing his email out.
Tanya Aldred wrote the Spin this week, and she did so on the problem the ECB have with limited overs cricket - be that T20 or the upcoming Hundred wheeze - becoming an almighty booze up that kids might not be that thrilled to attend.
How then, in the UK in 2020, do you run an evening cricket competition but make it more family-friendly? How do you stop, say, Manchester Clouds v Leeds Artillery from becoming a White Rose-Red Rose Friday night piss-up? You can hardly turn away the likely lads at the gate.
Since we’re not doing anything else now, how about a little read. Marina Hyde’s column this week has married the rather unlikely combo of cricket and Donald Trump.
With the schedule yet to be decided, I don’t want to hear any more about the possibility of him making some speech to troops at RAF Lakenheath or whatever. Much better, for the gaiety of this and other nations, that Donald Trump should be forced to attend a cricket match – ideally with that captivating conversationalist and Geoff Boycott-idoliser, Theresa May. The president is very much at the “see what stupid shit it can be made to type now” stage, and I would go so far as to hazard that it is impossible his cricket commentary could be anything other than remarkable.
It’s been hailing again. But relatively briefly. And the clouds seem to be shifting. What a pain in the bottom day.
The rain is getting harder. And the clouds have thickened. This simply will not do.
It’s still drizzling out there, and they seem to be bringing some extra covers out. Annoying. The game had already been reduced to 41 overs per side and this latest delay will lop even more off.
It's effing raining again
Bah. There’s plenty of blue sky around but a shower forces the players off again. This time, I suspect we’ll be back on in decent time, but boy this is frustrating.
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19th over: Pakistan 80-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 42, Haris Sohail 14) Right then, big boy spin now, as Adil Rashid comes on. A few singles, then Haris charges down the track, is entirely banjaxed by a quicker, flatter one - a googly too, I think - which Buttler juggles, and misses what is in theory an easy stumping chance. He then just runs down the wicket and past Rashid, possibly to avoid a death stare.
18th over: Pakistan 77-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 40, Haris Sohail 13) A bowling change, as Ben Stokes is back once again with the ill behaviour. He goes short, firstly a wide one that Imam probably should have battered over third man, then straighter and caused the batsmen to get out the road then ask about the bouncer quota for the over, then straighter still that Imam pulls to mid-wicket. No such luck after that though, as Imam gets a lovely balance between power and control on a pull and goes just backward of square and to the ropes.
17th over: Pakistan 72-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 35, Haris Sohail 13) Imam tucks one of those balls behind square for a single, then Haris deliberately drives off the back foot to cover, for no run.
First up, there will be two more deliveries of a Joe Root over to complete.
Updated
Right, we’re on. The sun is out, the covers are off and we’re set to restart in about five minutes. Looks like we’ll be down to 41 overs a side, though.
Oh, and the rain seems to have started again. This is going to get annoying. If it isn’t already. Which it is.
The sun now appears to be out, and the covers are gradually being removed.
The big sheets are now covering the square at the Oval. Might be a slightly longer delay, and we may start losing some time soon.
Eric Loh has a question, regarding the new/old Dukes balls, which are likely to hoop around corners whoever is bowling with them.
“So, I have tickets for the 4th day of the Lord’s Ashes test, should I be worried?”
All I’ll say is, at least you’ll get your money back.
“Your 12th over observation about Liam Plunkett reminded me of the faithful hard working nag Boxer in Animal Farm,” writes Brian Withington. “I wonder whether Ed ‘Napoleon’ Smith will be dispatching him to the glue factory before the summer is done?”
16.4overs: Pakistan 71-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 34, Haris Sohail 13) In the time it’s taken to write this update it actually seems to have stopped hailing, and indeed raining, to the point that the groundstaff have paused bringing the plastic sheets on. So this might not be a long interruption in play.
It's hailing...
Sweet mercy. Halfway through a Root over, which featured a merciless cut behind point for four, it starts spitting with rain, then raining a bit more heavily, then hailing. Actually hailing. That’s probably not good news.
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16th over: Pakistan 65-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 29, Haris Sohail 12) Muscles Plunkett continues, flexing that broad chest to send down some heaters. One is a big bouncer that could have been a wide, another a fuller ball that Haris drives so smoothly you could snuggle up to it at night and keep yourself nice and warm. Smashing shot, that.
15th over: Pakistan 58-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 27, Haris Sohail 7) Spin! It’s not Adil Rashid, it’s not the replacement second spinner Joe Denly, but Joseph Root. And very tidy he is too, only three singles from his over, and everyone gets a drink down them.
14th over: Pakistan 55-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 25, Haris Sohail 6) Haris Sohail is invited to drive through the covers by a wideish half-volley from Plunkett, and he does so exquisitely. A drive so clean you could eat your dinner off it.
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13th over: Pakistan 48-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 23, Haris Sohail 1) Quiet over from Stokes, just three singles coming from it. The run rate of 3.69 is a commitment too far to the en vogue 90s revival in my opinion.
12th over: Pakistan 45-2 (Imam-ul-Haq 21, Haris Sohail 0) Funny old game, cricket. Plunkett looked like an old race horse with knackered joints for most of his two overs, a proud beast who has seen better days. And then got the wicket with a lovely ball, which had just that half a bat width of away movement.
WICKET! Babar Azam c Buttler b Plunkett 16 - Pakistan 45-2
Plunkett continues to look not quite on it, bowling short and wide to Azam who jumps all over it and slams a cut to the third man boundary, then nails another one straight to Denly at point. Oh, but what’s this? Plunkett sends down a cross-seamer that Azam is a bit late on, and feathers one through to the keeper.
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11th over: Pakistan 40-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 20, Babar Azam 12) Double switch, as Ben Stokes is on in place of Woakes. He slips on his first ball and donates a very, very wide, but is quickly back on the mark to Imam. He loudly claims lbw, but it was almost certainly pitching outside leg and the umpire gave a run, so all in all not much going for that one.
10th over: Pakistan 35-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 18, Babar Azam 10) Bowling change, as Archer is replaced by Liam Plunkett. I would’ve given the new man another one, but I will reluctantly concede that Eoin Morgan knows more about these things than I. Three singles from the first three balls, then Plunkett drifts onto Imam’s hip and he clips it very, very fine - to the point where it was nearly a chance for Buttler - to the boundary. Not the best over from Plunkett: there was a wide, it was too easy for the batsmen to pick up eight runs, although the last couple of balls were much better. I wonder how much the knowledge that he is probably the quick bowler most under pressure from Archer for a World Cup spot, preys on Plunkett’s mind?
9th over: Pakistan 27-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 13, Babar Azam 8) Woakes gives Imam a long-hop again, and Imam duly gives it the requisite treatment, out to the square leg boundary. Pakistan aren’t actually doing too badly here, considering the conditions and the bowling, but as shown here, it’s not the first time they’ve struggled to gun it in the opening stages.
As this @CricViz graphic shows, Pakistan have really struggled to get going in the Powerplay in recent times - today's issues are nothing new. #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/RfqKO52QMR
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) May 8, 2019
8th over: Pakistan 23-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 9, Babar Azam 8) Trevor Bayliss noted that Archer looked a tad nervous against Ireland the other day, but he seems very relaxed now. Pakistan finally score a run off him, Imam shoving a single into the covers, to which he responds by nearly taking Azam’s nose off with a short one. Azam misses a drive then tries to pretend he was leaving it all along, but jumps all over the first slightly loose ball Archer has bowled, cutting nicely just behind point for a boundary.
Updated
7th over: Pakistan 18-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 8, Babar Azam 4) Relatively tight from Woakes, even if he does look like a dobber compared to the bloke bowling from the other end. Just a single from that over.
Gary Naylor is trying not to get carried away about the lad Jofra, but it’s difficult not to when someone’s talent is this obvious. “Of course it’s too early to make such judgements, but I’ve seen a lot of quicks at the Oval since Michael Holding’s all-time great performance in 1976 and few remind me more of the great man than Jofra Archer. There isn’t quite the grace, not quite the cool and (maybe) not quite the pace, but the talent is as obvious.There’s so little to go wrong with his action and such acceleration through the crease on delivery, that it’s impossible not to throw to The Ashes - when we’ll surely need to fight fire with fire when Patrick Cummins and co crank it up.”
6th over: Pakistan 17-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 7, Babar Azam 4) These batsmen are really struggling to lay anything on Archer. 14 balls into his spell he finally concedes a run, but it’s a leg side wide past Imam’s buttocks, then a second which is a leg-bye. Azam manages to get about two-thirds of a bat onto a skewed on-drive, they consider a single briefly but think better of it, considering they’d be competing against the cannon attached to Ben Stokes’s shoulder.
5th over: Pakistan 15-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 7, Babar Azam 4) Must be a real pain in the A for the batsmen getting used to these swinging conditions, when it’s chilly as all heck too. Woakes sends down a tight over until the last delivery, which is a real buffet ball on Babar Azam’s shins, and he loads up his plate with four runs on a cocktail stick from a foil-covered jacket potato.
4th over: Pakistan 10-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 6, Babar Azam 0) Seriously good stuff from Archer. Sounds like an obvious thing to say but you can really see how the batsmen are being hurried by the extra zip he is sending down.
WICKET! Fakhar Zaman c Root b Archer 3 - Pakistan 10-1
More good stuff from Archer, plenty of swing, a yorker that Fakhar does well to dig out and one that really leaps off a length to the shoulder of his bat. And then, slightly fuller, Fakhar drives airily, edges to second slip where Joe Root juggles once, juggles twice and eventually keeps hold of.
Updated
3rd over: Pakistan 10-0 (Imam-ul-Haq 6, Fakhar Zaman 3) Pakistan get their first boundary of the day when Imam swivels on one dropped slightly shorter from Woakes, and nails it in front of fine leg, who is quite square, to the ropes. He got all of that and no mistake.
2nd over: Pakistan 5-0 (Imam-ul-Haq 2, Fakhar Zaman 3) Here’s Jofra Archer, and his first ODI over in England is an absolute snorter, featuring three balls that hooped at 90mph or thereabouts, and left Imam grateful he didn’t nick them, plus a slippery old bouncer too. He’s got something, this lad.
1st over: Pakistan 5-0 (Imam-ul-Haq 2, Fakhar Zaman 3) Woakes is broadly on the mark in his first over, a bit back of a length but didn’t put either bat in trouble, as they milked five runs from it.
Chris Woakes looks like he’s going to open the bowling, with three slips, a point, extra cover, mids on and off, mid-wicket and fine leg.
Updated
The rain has stopped! Broadly speaking! The covers are off! The players are on their way out! We’re going to start at 2.15pm!
Ah nuts. The groundstaff are pushing the covers over the pitch. There seems to be a little rain in the air but as they’re not bringing the full monty of plastic sheets out, hopefully this is just a passing squall.
Team news
England
James Vince, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Joe Denly, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Liam Plunkett
Pakistan
Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c, wk), Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir
Umpires: Paul Reiffel, Rob Bailey (on field), Chris Gaffeney (TV)
A more palatable Morgan, Eoin, says that while Moeen Ali is missing today, he’ll probably return for the next game (on Saturday, in Southampton), but Jason Roy might be out for a little longer. Meanwhile Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed says he would have bowled too, and confirms Mohammed Amir plays today.
England win the toss...
...and will bowl.
Updated
Sky are showing a trailer for the much, erm, trailed documentary they’ve made with Kevin Pietersen. It looks great, and possibly features some frank exchanges of views, but is virtually ruined because it also features Piers effing Morgan.
We’re on! The umpires are happy so they will toss up at 1.45pm, play will start at 2.15pm but because 75 minutes have been lost, it will be a 47 overs per side match.
Another inspection ahoy, at 1.30pm. So we’re probably looking at a 2.15pm start if the umps are happy.
Here’s Andy Bull with some extra detail on the Dukes ball thing.
I reckon I’ll write this out quite a few more times today, but the rain has stopped and the covers are being removed. Not only that, but there seems to be sunshine bathing the Oval.
Mike Atherton has just interviewed Jonny Bairstow on Sky, and it was interesting - if logically speaking, not surprising in the least - that when he was asked if he could choose to win either the World Cup or the Ashes, he picked the former.
So, readers, which would you take? Email Nick.Miller.casual@theGuardian.com.
While we watch the rain, let’s discuss balls. The ECB have asked Dukes, the manufacturers of the balls that will be used in red ball cricket this summer, to make a big batch more like those that were used in England back in 2017 and 2018, after declaring themselves displeased with the prominence of the seam on the latest lot. According to the Press Association’s Rory Dollard, they had asked for those seams to be wound tighter, but after the first rounds of Championship cricket, Ashley Giles et al decided that had gone too far.
Giles, when asked about any suggestions this was a blatant home advantage grab, said:
People will say that, but that’s why we want to be on the front foot. We didn’t want to appear as though we were doing this underhandedly. I’ve spoken to Cricket Australia, they were fine, and I’ve spoken to Cricket Ireland (who play at Lord’s in July). It’s our decision but it’s important we made contact with them.
It’s not as though we’re talking about playing against a bowling attack that isn’t very good. The Aussies are quite handy themselves.
There are elements of risk in choosing to go with this other ball. But clearly Jimmy Anderson is one of our best weapons, one of the best bowlers who has ever played the game, and we want to bring him into the game. We just want to be up front and honest.
Bad news for batsmen everywhere, then. And bad news for basically anyone who has day four tickets for the six Tests scheduled for the summer.
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) May 8, 2019
Bah. It is raining at the Oval and they’re bringing the big sheets back on. That 1.30 start is out the window.
“Just to let you know, after 15 minutes of sun, it’s raining again in Fulham....” emails Alex Brown. That’s about four miles from the Oval, for those unfamiliar with the geography of London.
There are covers on the pitch, but the groundstaff are in the process of removing the big sheets from the outfield. Which is a good thing. There’s an inspection due at 12.45 and if all’s well there then Sky’s Isa Guha reckons we could be underway at around 1.30.
Here’s Andy Bull’s preview for this one, featuring Trevor Bayliss’s sometimes slightly alarming honesty.
A reminder of the playing conditions: we need 20 overs a side to have a legitimate game, and with the extra time available the latest the match can start is 6.15. But I’m pretty sure things will be underway well before that.
Weather update: it is raining in south London, but at the moment not every much and the forecast is for it to move north and stop at around 1pm and be reasonably clear after that. So we almost certainly won’t start on time, but the drainage at the Oval is pretty good and I reckon we’ll get a decent enough game in.
Preamble
It’s been a very slightly bitty start to this extraordinary summer of international cricket for England: a single ODI against Ireland, then a single T20 against Pakistan, but now we’re getting into the meat of things with the first of five ODIs versus Pakistan, when those last crinkles of the World Cup squad will be ironed out.
So what questions might be answered today? Can Joe Denly hack it as something between a part and full-time spinner? Will they take one look at his leggies and get on the blower to Liam Dawson? What sort of job will James Vince do at the top of the order? And of course, will Jofra (pronounced, we’re told, Jo-fra rather than Joff-ra) Archer make an unanswerable case, and if so which bowler will they leave out?
There is of course another question, which is: will the pillars of this side, the no-doubters that we’ve all been building our hopes around this summer, continue to do the business? Will we get runs from your Roots, your Morgans, your Bairstows and your Buttlers? Will Dilly Rashid provide those middle-order wickets? Will Liam Plunkett be able to adapt to losing half a yard in pace? Will Chris Woakes’s knee hold up?
And today, the other question is: which Pakistan will we get? The joy of this team over the last few years is their flamboyant inconsistency, lurching from brilliance to calamity with barely any warning, although actually on this occasion we have had a bit of warning: they come into this summer on the back of an absolute hosing from Australia (admittedly with a higgeldly piggedly side), and have won just two of their last ten ODIs. The big topic of discussion was the omission of Mohammad Amir from their preliminary World Cup squad, although he might get a run here to change some minds.
Questions, questions, questions. Of course this all might turn out to be moot as it is v v v v v wet in London at the time of writing, but we shall see. Stick around.
Scheduled start: 1pm BST
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