CHRISTCHURCH: Persistent rain forced the abandonment of the first day’s play of the first cricket Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Thursday.

Play had been expected to begin at 1100 (2200 GMT), but heavy rain overnight ensured it did not begin as scheduled.

While groundstaff, who had said earlier they would need two hours to prepare the venue once rain stopped, worked to prepare the ground during brief interludes of fine weather throughout the day, umpires Ian Gould of England and India’s Sundaram Ravi decided at their second pitch inspection at 1600 there was no chance of any play.

Both teams had turned up before the scheduled lunch break at 1300 and even begun warming up but they were forced off due to consistent showers sweeping across the ground.

When the sun did break through, Pakistan players engaged themselves in a football session, but the rain returned soon to force them indoors.

A scheduled inspection at 2.45pm had to be called off as the drizzle persisted.

The weather is expected to clear on Friday and remain fine for the remainder of the match. Play will start half an hour earlier than scheduled on the second day, when the toss will be made.

A massive earthquake that jolted central New Zealand on Monday has taken some of the focus off the beginning of the host country’s Test cricket season.

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson is making his home bow as captain having succeeded Brendon McCullum, who retired from international cricket following the Test against Australia on the same ground in February.

Pakistan’s preparation coming into the two-Test series has been less than ideal. Their three-day practice match in Nelson was completely washed out. They arrived in New Zealand last week straight out of a long series comprising three Twenty20 Internationals, three One-day Internationals and three Tests against West Indies in the United Arab Emirates, winning all of them.

Pakistan have not lost a Test series in New Zealand since 1985. They won by a 1-0 margin, also under Misbah-ul-Haq — who is set to captain in his 50th Test here at the Hagley Oval — on their previous tour to New Zealand in 2011.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2016