HAMILTON (New Zealand), Dec 19: No play was possible on the second day of the first Test between New Zealand and Bangladesh.

The rain which also washed out Tuesday’s opening day play returned 15 minutes before the scheduled 1130 (local time) start Wednesday after Bangladesh captain Khaled Mashud had won the toss and elected to field first.

The rain in the morning went from light to heavy before stopping just before lunch. But it proved to be only a brief respite.

The umpires, South Africa’s David Orchard and New Zealand’s Tony Hill, standing in his first Test, inspected the ground at 1445 and decided the outfield was too wet.

A second break in the rain prompted the umpires to wait until 1700 for a further inspection of the outfield. But 20 minutes after that announcement the heavens opened again and at 1540 play was called off for the day.

Bangladesh had made one change to the side who lost heavily to Auckland in the only match not wrecked by rain on their short New Zealand tour.

Left-arm spinner Enamul Hoque made way for Masrafe bin-Mortaza who is back after a groin injury.

Middle-order batsman Sanwar Hossein will make his debut for Bangladesh.

New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan, who was involved in a car accident outside the ground Tuesday, was passed fit after X-rays on his injured finger revealed no fracture.

McMillan was about to climb out of a taxi when it was hit by another vehicle and he injured his finger.

Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Denis Aberhart believes there is still a chance of a result.

“There is still time to win it,” Aberhart said.

“We have to play positive with the bat and give ourselves enough time to get 20 wickets. If we get out tomorrow we’ve still got 315 overs left, which could be plenty of time.

“Mother Nature has the upper hand so far,” said Aberhart who has his eye on the World Test Championship.

Teams:

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Mathew Sinclair, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Chris Martin

Bangladesh: Khaled Mashud (captain), Javed Omar, Mohammad Al-Sahariar, Habibul Bashar, Aminul Islam, Mohammad Ashraful, Sanwar Hossein, Khaled Mahmud, Mohammed Sharif, Manjurul Islam, Mashrafi Mortaza.

—Reuters