Updated 16.25
IRELAND AND AFGHANISTAN shook hands on a draw without a single ball bowled in their one-day international at a sodden Clontarf Cricket Club.
The sides hoped to finally get the first of two scheduled World Cricket League matches underway this afternoon after an entire day’s play was rained off yesterday.
Although the skies were clear over Dublin 3, the outfield was still deemed unfit for play and this morning’s start time was pushed back once again.
Another lengthy pitch inspection followed after lunch before the captains and umpires agreed to abandon the match.
The sides receive a point each which sees Ireland move a point clear of the United Arab Emirates at the top of the WCL table while Afghanistan leapfrog the Netherlands into fourth.
The second ODI is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 10.45am.
“The bowling run-up really was really and truly unsuitable, even for club cricket,” Ireland coach Phil Simmons explained afterwards. “We couldn’t put our players through that and the right decision was made in the end, so we’ll come back tomorrow morning and see if it’s fit enough.”
The sun’s out, the breeze is out so hopefully we can get play tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll dry out enough that we can run up because the wicket has been fine. It’s just the run up that’s the problem.We’re happy with a point for now. We don’t want any injuries going into the World Cup so we stay away from dodgy grounds like that.
