BULAWAYO, Feb 26: A downpour in the early afternoon washed out the first day of the second cricket Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Umpires David Orchard of Australia and England's Neil Mallender decided that an already sodden outfield at the Queens Sports Club caused by heavy rains on Wednesday had deteriorated too far to think about starting the match.

Ground staff spent several hours mopping up and the boundary rope had been moved inwards to leave some of the affected outfield beyond the normal playing area.

Zimbabwe won the first Test in Harare by 183 runs. The rain has diminished Bangladesh's prospects of a first Test victory. The match will now have to be completed in four days to get a result, if the weather permits. -AFP