Match abandoned without toss due to rain
It is all we have for you, and until hopefully something more to serve you guys apart from these nonsensically mundane rain updates, on behalf of all of us out here, ta ta!!
Mashrafe Mortaza | Bangladesh skipper: For all the teams, coming to the ground and not playing is disappointing and frustrating. This is how the tournament is going, we got our chances against New Zealand, we couldn't get going in the England match, but it was frustrating today. I think Shakib will be fine. He still has four-five days to recover. Taunton, yes, is a very small ground, and especially against West Indies it isn't going to be easy. But we don't have much of an option apart from playing hard.
Dimuth Karunaratne | Sri Lanka skipper: The last few games have been washed out, so these kind of tournaments aren't easy. It is a bad time for us. We just play some cards, but it isn't easy, we have to switch on and off all the time. These kind of things can happen but we have to get used to it. We can keep practicing and train harder for the Australia game. Definitely in every match we need to play for a win. The middle-order is trying to play hard and prove their worth, hopefully in the next game.
Richard Illingworth | Umpire: All the way around the country is pretty bad, but this is average weather to say the least. The captains didn't turn up till 11, but we obviously were in constant touch with the groundstaff to know how much time they would take to clear up the ground. Unfortunate for those guys who were around from 5:30 in the morning and the super-sopper was on continuously ever since. They got plenty of water off the ground as well.
Richard Kettleborough | Umpire: Our main objective is to try and get the game as soon as possible, but if anything, the rain has only gotten harder as the day went on. We have our set protocols and we had to get the game going by 16:17 local, but the groundsman said that we need around two-and-a-half to three hours to get the ground ready once it stopped raining, but it just hasn't.
So 2019, with three call-offs in a week, has officially become the World Cup with the most number of matches washed out. Alas, the forecast for the day after (if you trust Google's weather) could just add on to this record. Tomorrow promises to be much better - a 40% rain chance to today's 80%. Match or no match, the presentations will definitely happen. So if you've stayed this long, you'd might as well bear with us for another five minutes.
13:57 Local Time, 12:57 GMT, 18:27 IST: This was coming - Rob Johnston spent a frustrating few hours at the ground and so did some of the spectators, but it's all over now, the match has been officially abandoned. Both teams share one point each. Sri Lanka now have 4 points from 4 games, Bangladesh have 3 from 4 games.
13:48 Local Time, 12:48 GMT, 18:18 IST: The umpires are out there on an inspection. So, hopefully, some news could come out of this. The groundstaff too seem to have resigned to their fates. Apparently they've been working at this from 6am in the morning.
13:31 Local Time, 12:31 GMT, 18:01 IST: It's not raining anymore, it's pouring. Also, the handful of "fans" who'd bothered hanging around until the earlier inspection don't seem to be seen anywhere around now.
13:00 Local Time, 12:00 GMT, 17:30 IST: In case you are still hanging around in hope, the official cut-off time for a 20-overs-a-side contest is 4:15pm local time, which amounts to 8:45pm IST.
Sourav: "Rain could play a huge role in deciding which team finishes 1st or 2nd. India have a very very good chance of finishing top and playing the SF against the 4th team, if only rain permits. Playing in the 2nd vs 3rd match could be tricky."
Nothing to report, absolutely nothing.
12:20 Local Time, 11:20 GMT, 16:50 IST: The umpires have realized there's no point waiting until 12:15pm local to call off the inspection. We'll do it right now. Why, you ask? Really!
When it rains, we somehow get news of people getting injured. Marcus Stoinis is ruled out of tomorrow's clash with a side strain, and Mitchell Marsh is brought in as a backup. Shikhar Dhawan is ruled out of a minimum of two matches against New Zealand and Pakistan as per the official broadcasters, owing to an injured thumb in the last game.
11:57 Local Time, 10:57 GMT, 16:27 IST: Raining again. It's a vicious circle.
Amrit: "Weather in England and Wales is playing like the unofficial 11th entry to the list of participating teams."
11:31 Local Time, 10:31 GMT, 16:01 IST: There's plenty of water on the covers which the groundsmen are tirelessly working on draining out with the sucking brooms and mops. The rain - at least in the live pictures coming in - seems to have stopped. For now. The 12:15 inspection stands.
11:23 Local Time, 10:23 GMT, 15:53 IST: It was an entire four minutes of pleasure .. before Rob Johnston who's at the ground for us, tells us that the drizzle is back and "the umpires have walked around the whole field, including near the boundary. Bristol drains well but it has taken so much water over the past two days." The next inspection is scheduled for 12:15 local, something like 52 minutes from now.
11:19 Local Time, 10:19 GMT, 15:49 IST: Big news. There is no drizzle. It's brighter. And, as we clutch at straws here, this is the biggest one we've got yet. The umpires are out on an inspection.
Dilly: "Looked at Taunton and Nottingham weather for the next 2 days. It is terrible to say the least. Also hearing Edgbaston on Sunday isn't great either. CWC'19 is starting to get messed up."
10:59 Local Time, 09:59 GMT, 15:29 IST: Just the mundane stuff - rain, and rain, and more rain. Get the trend?! Of course you do, you've become a pro at this ..
10:33 Local Time, 09:33 GMT, 15:03 IST: We have no good news for you yet as the covers are still on. Cricket World Cup has tweeted "The scheduled inspection has been postponed as the rain has unfortunately returned." Hopefully, we will be back soon with some good news.
Patrick Burke: "I apologise for the weather of my country guys, if it's any consolation we don't like it much either!"
10:00 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST: ICC's Cricket World Cup twitter handle tells us - the rain has eased off, the covers are being peeled off - but all this is for the inspection where the umpires need to check the patches under the sheets.