Virat Kohli was nearing a half-century when bad light stopped play in the World Test Championship final as India's captain led a recovery against New Zealand.
Day one of the showpiece was lost to rain and the players were met with gloomy, overcast conditions in Southampton for day two.
Such surroundings naturally suited New Zealand's pace attack, with the Black Caps, fresh off a 1-0 series win over England, reducing India to 88-3.
But, as he has done so often throughout his career, Kohli lifted India, reaching 44 not out with a disciplined innings that featured just one four before the fading light forced the players off.
India were 146-3 when stumps were called, a score that may have been deemed underwhelming after Rohit Sharma (34) and Shubman Gill put on 62 for the opening wicket.
Yet the continually impressive Kyle Jamieson broke that stand with a full delivery that drew a thick edge from Rohit.
New Zealand applied the pressure and just one run had been added when Gill's stay at the crease was ended with Neil Wagner's third delivery, which saw the opener caught behind for 28.
Kohli steadied the ship, but Cheteshwar Pujara, having slashed a four through backward point and then creamed another through the covers, eventually succumbed to a vintage delivery from Trent Boult, whose inswinger trapped him in front.
However, the India skipper found a partner with staying power in Ajinkya Rahane, who found the rope four times in his unbeaten 29 before the light meters returned a result that stopped their progress cold.
PUJARA'S POOR FORM PERSISTS
With his dismissal for eight, Pujara has failed to score more than 21 runs in each of his past six innings. He has scores of 15, 21, seven, none, 17 and eight since his first-innings 73 against England in Chennai in February. The 33-year-old is out of form and it is fair to wonder whether he will keep his place with a series against England on the horizon.
WILL SPOILS BE SHARED?
Had this game been played a week earlier, there would have been no doubt of a result as England was bathed in sunshine. Now, even with the prospect of using a reserve day, it is questionable whether there will be enough play to deliver a result, with rain forecast on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The final could turn into a non-event, and there is an increasing likelihood the teams will share the Test Championship mace.
Lancashire slip to first defeat of Blast season against Birmingham
Lancashire suffered their first defeat of this season’s Vitality Blast as they slumped to a seven-wicket loss at Birmingham Bears on Monday.
The Lightning lost their last seven wickets for 36 runs in 35 balls as they were bowled out for just 98 at Edgbaston.
Spinners Danny Briggs and Dan Mousley did most of the damage, taking four for 15 and three for 13 respectively.
The Bears then eased to victory, maintaining their own 100 per cent record in the competition, with captain Alex Davies, formerly of Lancashire, hitting an unbeaten 51 from 39 balls.
Worcestershire claimed their third win from three outings as they saw off Leicestershire by 33 runs at New Road.
Kashif Ali top-scored with 69 – his maiden half-century in the Blast – as the Rapids posted 183 for seven from their 20 overs.
Leicestershire reached 70 for one in reply but then fell away as Brett D’Oliveira, Michael Bracewell and Usama Mir all took two wickets apiece and Pat Brown (three for 25) cut through the tail.
Northamptonshire claimed their first win as they beat Derbyshire by six wickets with 12 balls to spare at Derby.
Saif Zaib led them home with 37 not out from 32 balls while captain David Willey and Chris Lynn added 31 as the Steelbacks eased to their 152-run target.
Wayne Madsen had top-scored for Derbyshire with 57 and wicketkeeper Brooke Guest weighed in with 49.
Gloucestershire held on for a nail-biting two-run win over Middlesex in a high-scoring contest at Northwood.
Miles Hammond hit 59 from 42 balls and Grant Roelofsen 34 from 19 as Gloucestershire ran up 181 for nine from their 20 overs.
Stephen Eskinazi (59) and Joe Cracknell (42) got Middlesex off to a strong start in reply before Luke Hollman (39) and Ryan Higgins (24) took up the chase.
Seven runs were needed off the final over but Matt Taylor conceded just four with Higgins run out off the last ball.
James Anderson and Ollie Robinson should be fit for Ashes – Brendon McCullum
England head coach Brendon McCullum is confident James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will be fit for the first Ashes Test but has confirmed they will play no part against Ireland this week.
The five-match series against Australia begins on June 16 but England have fitness concerns over a number of their bowlers.
Robinson suffered an ankle issue for Sussex earlier this month and Anderson strained his groin while on Lancashire duty while injury-hit pair Jofra Archer and Olly Stone have experienced elbow and hamstring problems respectively already this summer.
England begin their eagerly anticipated summer with a four-day Test against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday and while two of their key bowlers will miss out, they should be fine for the Ashes opener at Edgbaston.
“Yeah we’ve got a couple of niggles so we’re just monitoring those at the moment. I guess every team that goes into a series has got a couple of little things that you need to work through, but pretty confident we’ll have a good squad to be able to pick from,” McCullum insisted.
On Robinson and Anderson, he added: “For the first Ashes Test, I think they should be fit.
“They won’t be fit for this one against Ireland. We’ll just have to monitor it over this next sort of while, but we’ve got some great options right throughout the squad.
“When I first took over this job, people said there wasn’t much depth in English cricket and I disagree with that completely.
“I think there is an immense amount of depth and we’ve got plenty of good options throughout the squad.”
ICC chief Wasim Khan accepts Tests and franchise leagues must learn to coexist
Wasim Khan, the International Cricket Council general manager, accepts the landscape of the sport has changed as he urged countries and franchise leagues to find a way to “coexist”.
Jason Roy last week became the first England player to cancel his national contract, an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year, to pursue an opportunity in Major League Cricket in the United States, where he has reportedly been offered around £300,000 for two seasons.
There has been speculation about the Indian Premier League offering annual contracts while the relevance of bilateral cricket keeps cropping up as internationals are crammed into an already busy programme.
Khan admitted there is no putting the genie back in the bottle as the proliferation of domestic T20 competitions continues but he feels international cricket can live alongside these leagues.
“Obviously the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to coexist,” said Khan, the former chief executive of Leicestershire and Pakistan.
“Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to coexist moving forward.”
The growing unease about the possibility of elite talent putting club before country in future hangs over cricket ahead of the final of the World Test Championship happening next week at the Kia Oval.
Khan, who expects “full crowds” for at least the first four days of the contest between India and Australia, thinks the format still holds some relevance and revealed the 12 full member nations have elected to keep hold of the World Test Championship for the next eight-year cycle.
“The members have signed up for the next eight years,” said Khan. “We’ve heard some of the top stars from around the world continually talking about the importance of Test cricket.
“We know that the emergence of these leagues does put pressure on the schedule but we’re confident that at least for the next eight years that continual context will be provided for red-ball cricket.
“It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to coexist, to ensure our schedules moving forward provides something for everybody.”
Ricky Ponting suggested earlier this month the ICC has a role to play in making sure players from smaller nations are well-remunerated in Test cricket so they do not go down the franchise route.
Khan confirmed the former Australia captain’s assertion the issue had been brought up in a Cricket Committee meeting but was taken no further.
“It was perhaps a misquote,” said Khan. “It was raised initially within the ICC Cricket Committee as a discussion point but there was certainly nothing taken forward around payments to players.”
Khan, though, believes it is up to the boards of individual countries how much they pay players, pointing out all full member nations will receive a substantial increase on previous earnings during the new rights cycle from 2024-27.
“The distributions the members will be receiving in the next cycle will be greater than what they received previously,” added Khan. “The payments they pay players is purely down to the members.
“If there are player associations there, they will certainly be negotiating with those, but where there’s not, it’s down to the boards – and particularly with the key players within those boards – to decide what the payment structure looks like moving forward.”
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