England v Australia 1926

Played at Nottingham, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday June 12, 14, 15. Drawn. Completely ruined by rain the first of the five Test matches was restricted to fifty minutes' cricket on Saturday. The weather turned wet in the early morning and, although matters improved towards noon, the outlook was always unpromising. Still the game began shortly after mid-day, Carr having won the toss and, of course, deciding that England should bat. The wicket upon which much labour had been expended for a long time previously was found impracticable and another pitch was utilised.

On a gloomy day Hobbs and Sutcliffe found themselves somewhat handicapped by the absence of sight-screens at either end, but on the other hand Gregory, to obtain a foothold, had to use a lot of sawdust and a slight intermittent drizzle kept the ball wet. The batsmen scored chiefly by neat strokes on the leg side and well placed shots for smartly run singles, but each player hit a no-ball from Macartney, for 4, and Sutcliffe sent a full-pitch from Gregory to the ring. The score had reached 32 when, in the middle of an over, a heavy rain storm burst over the ground, driving the players from the field, and as it happened, bringing play for the day to a close. Soon the water, despite the coverings at each end, lay in pools where a good length ball would pitch, and although inspection of the wicket by the captains led to nothing, the umpires - called upon shortly before six o'clock - promptly decided that further cricket was impossible.

Delightful weather prevailed on Sunday, but on Monday alternations of downpour and drizzle led to all idea of play being abandoned shortly after two o'clock and on Tuesday conditions were so hopeless that by half-past eleven the captains agreed to abandon the match. Of the sixteen Australians, Hendry and Ponsford were kept out of the match by illness; Ellis, the reserve wicket-keeper, naturally gave way to Oldfield; Everett had accomplished nothing to warrant his inclusion in the eleven; and Mailey was preferred to Grimmett. England took the field as selected, Sandham being twelfth man.