By Tony Becca, Contributing EditorMANCHESTER, England:
AFTER AN enthralling first day's play during which the West Indies staged two wonderful recoveries through a mixture of tight defence and brilliant stroke play and ended up stealing the honours for the first time in the series, there was no play in the third Test match at Old Trafford yesterday.
Based on the weather and a pitch that was predicted to assist bowlers, the Test match was expected to be a low-scoring affair.
With the West Indies, thanks to debutant Sylvester Joseph, 45, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, 40, who posted 75 for the second wicket, and to Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 76, and Dwayne Bravo, 77, who shared a fifth-wicket stand of 157, easing to 275 for six off 70.5 on the first day, with the aggressive Carlton Baugh at the crease, the second day promised to have been another good, probably even exciting day of cricket.
Unfortunately for the thousands of fans who turned up for the expected treat, as was the situation on the second day of the drawn third Test between England and Pakistan in 1992 right here in Manchester, not even one ball was bowled.
Like the first day of the match, the day dawned with heavy rain. Unlike Thursday when the rain eased, stopped and allowed play to get under way after an hour's delay, however, yesterday it was typical Manchester rain that gave but one glimmer of hope.
RAIN AGAIN
By 10 o'clock the rain had eased to a drizzle, at 1.30 it stopped and the covers removed, at 2.30 the stumps were in place, at 2.40 it was announced on the PA system that play would get under way at 3.45, and five minutes later, with the players knocking up on the wet outfield, down came the rain again.
One hour later, with the rain, a light drizzle, turning Old Trafford into a dark, gloomy place, play was called off for the day.
With the first innings of the match not yet completed and only three days to go, the consensus around Old Trafford is that the Test match is heading for a draw.
Three days is a long time, however, and the West Indies, two down and beaten in four days at Edgbaston, still have some work to do to ensure that they do not lose the game and leave England with a chance of a going for a whitewash in the fourth and final Test at The Oval.
The team batting in the first innings that is not yet completed, however, is the West Indies. A good innings from Baugh, some good support from Dave Mohammed, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards could see them adding another 60 runs or so. If they do that, if their bowlers bowl well for a change, if there is no more rain, three days could be a long time - not for the West Indies but for England.
The Test match, however, could be over as a contest.
Forty minutes after the umpires, 33-year-old Simon Taufel of Australia and 35-year-old Aleem Dar of Pakistan, two of the best in the world, had called it a day, the rain, accompanied by flashes of lightning, was back as heavy as it was in the morning.
