Pakistan made to wait

Rain played the spoilt sport at Edgbaston today, as Pakistan will have to wait another day to get their first action in this, the third edition of the ICC Champions Trophy.

While it was only drizzling today and that too in patches, heavy overnight rain meant that the conditions were far worse than what can be accepted for this level of cricket, and thus even if the drizzle had cleared away entirely, play definitely wouldn't have got underway.

The bowlers' run-ups were the major concern, which expectedly led the umpires to call off play today, and reschedule it for tomorrow, weather permitting.

The weather prediction for tomorrow looks positive, as there is only a slight chance of showers. The wind too, which was a problem today, would be down to 20 mph.

Pakistan would be itching to get on the field tomorrow, as they're the ones who have everything to lose. Arch-rivals India have already won their group stage match against Kenya, which means Pakistan will have to get a comprehensive victory of the minnows, so as when they play India and rain intervenes, they're better placed with the net run rate.

Pakistan (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Shahid Afridi, Shabbir Ahmed, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Moin Khan (wicket-keeper), Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Salman Butt, Naved-ul-Hasan.

Kenya (from): SO Tikolo (captain), KO Otieno (wicket-keeper), RD Shah, HS Modi, TM Odoyo,RG Aga, MA Ouma, BJ Patel, MA Suji, PJ Ongondo, AO Suji, ML Patel, J Ababu, L Onyango.

Posted by Sudeep