The opening day of the World Test Championship final between the Blackcaps and India on Friday has been abandoned, as rain set in over Southampton's Ageas Bowl.
Persistent showers across the day has resulted in play being called off without a ball being bowled, with no coin toss even taking place.
Despite a brief period where no rain fell, the weather turned again before the Ageas Bowl ground staff could clear water from the playing surface, as the officials decided to cut their losses.
Play will begin half an hour earlier on Saturday for the second day's play, with 98 overs scheduled - weather permitting. Rain is forecast for Southampton for the next few days.
The abandonment of the first day now means that the World Test Championship final can be played into a sixth day if required, due to the time lost to weather from Friday's washout.
The Blackcaps are yet to name a final XI for the match, which is expected to be decided by coach Gary Stead and captain Kane Williamson on Saturday.
Vice captain Tom Latham was braced for the weather to intervene, admitting the Blackcaps simply need to adjust and bide their time patiently, without becoming complacent.
"It was forecast unfortunately, but it's one of those things that, as cricketers, you need to adapt," says Latham.
"It's something we can’t control. It's just about waiting and when we get the opportunity to come on, making sure we’re ready.
"The beauty of it is there is day six as well, so there is a little extra time that we can use then.
"Looking at conditions and the amount of water that has fallen since yesterday afternoon, there probably wasn’t a huge chance that we were going to play today. So guys have just been trying to relax, there has been a lot of table tennis, a lot of darts being played up in the team room.
"Guys are pretty relaxed and we’ll have to give it another shot tomorrow and see what happens."
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