Rain dampens Strauss plans
ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss spoke of his frustration after Headingley’s new £600,000 drainage system failed its first major test in causing the abandonment of the first one-day international with the West Indies.
The Leeds ground underwent a vast resurfacing, drainage and irrigation overhaul in the winter, but failed to withstand heavy overnight and morning rain which flooded the outfield.
Umpires Steve Davis and Nigel Llong were forced to abandon play amid glorious sunshine around 2pm, much to the frustration of a sizeable crowd anticipating play.
The abandonment now reduces the series to two matches with the first taking place at Bristol on Sunday, but England captain Andrew Strauss had no complaints with the decision.
He said: “They the conditions were very, very poor. They looked to get a bit better but you still wouldn’t say it was fit to play international cricket on. The umpires have to safeguard the safety of the players and they made that decision on their own, the captains weren’t involved in that, but I think it was the right one.
“We always enjoy coming up here and playing. There’s always a good atmosphere and we’ve missed out on that, so that’s frustrating. It’s now a two-match series and we need to win two to win it.”
Strauss refused to comment, however, on speculation that his Middlesex team-mate Eoin Morgan was set for an international debut in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen.
The Irish-born batsman has switched allegiance from his native country after playing in 23 ODIs.
Morgan was listed on the matchday scorecard as No4 batsman ahead of Ian Bell, while wicketkeeper Matt Prior was down as No3.
“You’ll have to wait and see,” Strauss said with a wry smile. “It’s not information we want to give away, it provides the opposition with information on your team, so we’ll wait for the toss on Sunday.”