England vs India, 1st ODI at Chester-le-Street, , Sep 03 2011 - Ball by Ball Commentary

5.30pm Sorry folks, match abandoned. The weather has beaten everyone. That's harsh on India would have played some very good cricket today and England have got away with it, especially if they'd been left with the 20-over chase. But, as it is, we head to the Rose Bowl for Tuesday's game at 0-0. I'll hang around and bring you some comments from the presentation if we have one. Well, not sure we'll hear much from the captains so I'll wrap it up there. Thanks for staying with us. From Andrew McGlashan, Andrew Miller and Siddarth Ravindran it's goodbye and see you on Tuesday.

5.25pm There is some rain in the air again. Nigel Llong, the fourth umpire, in the middle with an umbrella. Covers coming back out. Looks fairly bleak out there.

5.20pm Plenty of dark clouds still around the ground. No official words on what's happening as yet.

Here we go. They are going to try for a 5.40pm restart which will mean a target of 164 in 20 overs.

5.15pm Nagraj says the covers are off although a dark cloud is looming. Getting down to a 20-over scenario. Groundstaff doing a great job and we might still get some more cricket.

5.10pm Getting close to curtains I think. In other news, for anyone who didn't notice earlier Pragyan Ojha took 6 for 8 for Surrey against Northamptonshire earlier. But he wasn't good enough for India's Test side.

Ah, maybe I spoke too soon. The rain appears to have got lighter (and maybe stopped). The umpires are in the middle.

Update from Robert's highlights. "Botham just got 2 wickets, but the old chap is feeling his knee, bit sore and sorry for himself."

5.00pm No real update for you, but it doesn't look good.

"I am watching 82-83 England v Australia," says Robert from Australia. "Lamb just got cleaned up by Thomo. Hope it stops raining shortly makes one feel old watching that." Nothing like a few classic highlights.

4.50pm A reminder, that the final cut-off is 5.40pm for a restart. So 50 minutes away.

4.45pm Gah. There's some drizzle in the air. Covers being brought back in. Just the run-ups at the moment. Some more sheets being brought on. Clearly we won't be starting on time, so if we do get on there will be more adjustments to the target.

4.30pm Good news folks, the covers are coming off. Things looking a bit better. A 20-over target would be 164, but we don't know how many overs we'll get at the moment.

If no more rain restart at 4.50pm and a 32-over chase. Target is 224.

4.20pm Hearing that the rain has stopped so maybe a hopeful sign. We need to back on by 5.40, so have about an hour and a quarter left at the moment.

"A question," asks Miles. "Probably simple but needs an answer. Not related to this game but distracts us from the weather for a while. In Somerset's recent hammering from Hampshire J Buttler did not play in the 1st inngs but then played in Somerset's 2nd. What's the rules and understanding on this?"

There is a rule that allows a player called up by England to slot back into a Championship match before the start of the third day for a nominated player. In this case, Buttler replaced Steve Snell.

4.15pm It's still raining. Meanwhile, here's Mathan. "Who said India don't have bench strength? Already more than 25 players in this series..few more coming up..way to go champions!!!"

"Here is my 11 for the newly formed "I"PL," says Pratap. "1. Sehwag 2. Tendulkar 3. Gambhir 4. Pujara 5. Yuvaraj 6. Rohit Shrama 7. Dhoni 8. Harbhajan 9. Zahir 10. Ishant 11. Nehra / Praveen For Number 11, final choicewill be made based on "fitness" test."

4.05pm Some of you saying I'm posting enough updates on the weather. Would have thought this ongoing chat was sufficient evidence not much is happening. It's still raining. We are losing overs. Need to restart by 5.40pm to get a 20-over chase.

"Why CM Gautam for T20s?" asks Rajesh. "How about Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu? Both are very dangerous batsmen that need to be in the Indian squad in the future!"

4.00pm Here's the Indian version of the keeper debate from Maja: "@ Punit, wish something similar for India also Dhoni for ODI, Parthiv for T20 and Dinesh Karthik for Test."

"At the rate the Indian players are getting injured, and with the difficulty to obtain visa for the replacements, they should consider playing Ganguly in the next match," says Srinivas

Here's Gaurav: "@Maja: Karthik for Tests? really? I know he did well for a couple of years but I'd say that Parthiv is the better batsman. My left-field choices are: Parthiv for ODIs, CM Gautam for T20s and Uday Kaul for Tests."

Graeme Powell offers this "re England wicketkeepers ... I am amazed no-one has mentioned Jonny Bairstow. A quality keeper and very impressive one-day batsman too." Well, Bairstow went to Ireland for the recent ODI but did't make the team. He's close, and will be around the Lions side this winter.

3.55pm Raju has this fine effort for us:

Rain, rain, go away

Come again another day

World Cup Holders want to say

England, we'll just blow you away

Teesea has another name for the England wicketkeeper debate. "Is Phil Mustrad no where in the consideration did very well when got the chance and they recalled Tim Ambrose who failed miserably, then went back to Prior? Anyway can envy England on that Prior, Buttler, Davies, Mustard, Kieswetter some depth."

And, just to confirm, for those of you asking, we are already losing overs.

3.50pm Meanwhile, it's still damp in Durham although the groundstaff are doing some mopping up.

"Right, to keep all 3 keepers happy, Prior in the Test format, Kieswetter ODI and Davies T20I," suggests Punit

Hello folks, Gnasher here. Regarding Davies, I'll try to explain. He was in the one-day squad at the start of the series against Australia but was then dropped in favour of Matt Prior for the World Cup. Prior had a poor World Cup and England have now gone back to Kieswetter who they see as an ideal player for the subcontinent and Australia where there is less swing and he can hit through the line.

They'll give Kieswetter a decent run now, and he has improved over the last 12 months, but he still struggles against the moving ball. Davies, meanwhile, has had a very good season for Surrey in all formats and is certainly keeping his name on the radar. If Kieswetter got injured, it would be very interesting to see who they would go for.

3.45pm Bob asks: "BTW, what HAS happened to Steven Davies? Has looked in pretty good form this year. Davies's name was not mentioned ONCE in Strauss's book on the Ashes Downunder, the only member of the squad to be airbrushed from the records. Any ideas?"

I'll let Andrew McGlashan, one of our experts on England cricket, handle that one.

3.35pm It continues to pelt down at Chester-le-Street. And apparently the forecast is for plenty more rain.

Greg seems to be about the only one happy with the weather: "Fortuitous as it has just started bucketing down in Bangkok and I've lost my satellite feed so it seems I'm not missing anything!" Several unhappy Indian fans wondering where the rain was during the Test series.

Nirav sends this in: "Advertisement: Zaheer, Sehwag, Gambhir, Ishant, Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Sachin, Rohit, . . . . chance to be with your favorite players. Join and play today the Injured Players League? Currently, offers are being extended to Raina, Kohli, and Dhoni. Since, the league is in its initial stages, any interested players are encouraged to contact ASAP. "

3.25pm Okay, ignore my previous D/L ramblings. If the game is reduced to 20 overs, England's target is 164.

Rahul Pednekar asks: "Is it Jonathan Trott who is asking that question by being discreet? Is he trying to boast of his feat but wants to show that he is modest at same time? :)"

Sourav Ganguly has put it more bluntly than the BCCI. "That's him out of the series then. You can't play with a fractured finger!" Any guess on who should be the replacement (if one is needed)? Can the Indian selectors top their already baffling picks. Resurrect India's favourite bowler Ajit Agarkar's career perhaps?

3.00pm rain stops play. The players are coming off, and if the TV commentators are to be believed, this could be a long stoppage.

Jonathan asks: "Is Trott the only batsman to average more than 50 in both formats of the game?" Michael Hussey also has 50+ averages in both formats. I thought Hashim Amla did as well, but his Test average is about 46. Can't think of any others.

Our man at the ground, Nagraj Gollapudi, sends this in: "Rohit Sharma has an index finger fracture on right hand. His status for the rest of the series is not yet known, says team manager."

Rahul: "india on top , aaaaaaaah nice to see this headline." No one likes the "rain intrudes" but though.

"If Kieswetter is a better option than Matt Prior or Steven Davies (or Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler for that matter) then my name is Michael Caine." This from a reader using the handle 'Wombat'. I don't know whether his real name is Michael Caine.

Bad news It has started to rain, some umbrellas open in the crowd.

Update: Rohit Sharma has a fracture on his index finger. No official word yet whether he is out of the series.

Rohit Sharma has been sent to the hospital for a scan. RP Singh is the substitute