The rain is heavier now, and they’ve aborted plans for that 2.10pm toss.
It remains a bit grim here, but the covers are being peeled off ahead of a toss at 2.10. I can’t see anyone out there with an umbrella up, which is always a good sign.
Saqib Mahmood is out there, but he’s been ruled out for a couple of months with a knee injury that requires “minor surgery”. For the Ireland tour this week, England have called up Scott Currie, the Hampshire seamer who had an excellent Blast (until a tricky finals day yesterday), and has played three ODIs for Scotland. He’s tall, rangy and bowls tricky overs. Interesting, fun selection.
Good afternoon from Trent Bridge, where the scene is already a bit bleak and the forecast is worse. As I walked along the canal from the station, past Meadow Lane and across from the City Ground, a few specks of rain started to fall from the sky. They got heavier the closer I got to Trent Bridge, and I walked in to find the covers being put on. That said, both teams are playing a bit of football to warm up, which is an indication that it’s hardly drastic. The trouble is that the forecast is for it to get worse.
Meanwhile, since I was last here in May (for the start of England’s home summer, against Zimbabwe) work on the old Pavilion has continued apace. You can barely see it today, only the gutted tip of one end of it. It’s a massive renovation project.
