Rain frustrates England
16/05/2009 8:32 AM
Rain washed out day two of the second Test between England and West Indies at Riverside.
Alastair Cook must therefore wait until Saturday at the earliest to try to reach a new career-best score, after forecast bad weather swept across the north-east.
The inevitable abandonment was confirmed shortly after 4pm, with no sign of an improvement in conditions.
Cook had closed day one on 126 not out in England's 2-302, after he and his Essex team-mate Ravi Bopara (108) shared a second-wicket stand of 213. The highest of his nine Test hundreds so far is his unbeaten 139 against these opponents in Barbados two months ago.
The washout was much more in England's favour than the West Indies', the tourists needing to somehow win this match to salvage a series draw and retain the Wisden Trophy.
That will be no easy task, chasing the game from an unpromising position with just three days remaining.
There was good news for the 5,000 people who had bought tickets for the second day's play - Durham announcing they will all be eligible for free entry on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Availability on Saturday is likely to be limited, however, with a 16,000 full house apparently expected.