Stars vs Patriots, 18th Match at Basseterre, , Aug 19 2017 - Ball by Ball Commentary

12.18amThe game has been called off. The rain did not last long, but it was so heavy that it caused significant damage to the pitch. Rightly, both captains did not want to risk the safety of their players.

In the little play there was, spinners dominated again, bowling more than seven of the eight overs. That result also means the St. Lucia Stars get their first point of the campaign. The Patriots are nicely placed at second on the points table. Until next time, take care.

12.15am A pitch inspection being conducted. Shane Watson comes out to have a look. Looks like there are a couple of areas of concern. Umpire Johan Cloete explaining just that to both captains. The umpires shake hands with both captains.

12.10amThe umpires are out there to have a look. Lots of movement around, the covers are coming off. More news as and when we have it.

12.00am Supposed to be inspection time, but all the covers are on. There is a good chance that this is it for the morning. There may actually be some light rain around.

11.20pm We'll have an inspection at 12am local time, which is 40 minutes from now. That means we'll lose at least five more overs in that period. There is plenty of concern about the pitch, not the outfield.

10.55pm Thanks Akshay. Not much to add to the below. The wetter areas are being dried with grass and set in as well as possible with a roller. The rest of the outfield seems fine. I think we should lose overs hereon. A mega blow-dryer used too on the pitch.

We are still awaiting word on an official restart time. In the meantime, I'm off for some breakfast. Over to Nikhil for the rain-watch.

10.45pm The rain has stopped and the covers are off. The players and groundstaff are out in the middle. They are putting on some artificial grass in a bid to get rid of the moisture.

10.18pm Bad news trickling in, folks. The CPL's official Twitter account has tweeted out that the rain has just returned and the covers are back on, so the wait continues.

9.46pm The groundstaff has finally got to work, after a fair few minutes of examining the conditions. The supersopper is in motion, and it will have to do a fair few rounds tonight, I suspect. We will bring you the updates as and when any news comes in on a resumption. Stay tuned.

9.37pm The covers are starting to come off, but there is a lot of water on them that has accumulated in a short while. Peeling off the covers needs to be done with a lot of diligence, but remember that there was already a significant amount of moisture before the match. Now that the covers are coming off, there are parts of the square and ground that are coming into the vicinity and that is not a picture you want to see. There is a huge puddle of water a few yards away from the main square, as well as an adjacent one, not the one being used, though. A resumption is not likely any time soon with that level of sogginess.

9.30pmThe rain has started to pelt down. Tell you what, there is no breeze either, so this may last longer than you think. It is absolutely pelting down and the groundstaff sprints out with the covers. Didn't see that coming, out of nowhere.

Naveen sangwan: "Been long since Watson played kind of cricket he is known for. Hopefully we see a dashing inning from him. #Century #Wato"

Carlos Brathwaite

Towels out already. Lots of dew

Shahid Jamil: "Why Sammy is mentioned as Captain? shouldn't it be Watson today??" Yes, that's right. It's already being corrected, thanks.