England v Pakistan 1971

The match was a financial disaster, the loss estimated at £25,000 because of the rain which took seventeen hours, twenty minutes out of the playing time. Only twenty-three minutes cricket was possible on the second day and Saturday was completely blank - a heavy blow, for this is usually the best attended day of the series.

Four inches of rain fell on Lord's in the week before the match, which left the pitch desperately slow, but Boycott hit his tenth century for England and it was a splendid innings. After recovering from a broken arm he replaced Cowdrey; Gifford, the Worcestershire captain, was preferred to Underwood as the left-arm spinner; Price of Middlesex played his first Test on his home ground and Richard Hutton became the sixth player to follow his father into an England team. Ward and Shuttleworth were both unfit, Shuttleworth withdrawing on the morning of the match. Pakistan's only change was the return of Salim Altaf to share the new ball in place of Imran.

Play could not begin on the first day until 3.30 because of wet surrounds. Boycott and Luckhurst, after a slow start, played as if they meant to take heavy revenge for Edgbaston. No bowler troubled them and by the close of the first day England were 118 without loss; Boycott 61, Luckhurst 46. Salim sent back Luckhurst without addition the next morning but soon the rain returned and England went off at 133 for one.

Play could not be resumed until 2.30 on Monday by which time all hope of a result had gone. Illingworth made a token declaration at 241 for two at which stage Boycott was 121 not out, not having made a glimmer of an error in his stay of five hours, ten minutes.

By the end of the fourth day Aftab and Sadiq had made 49 without being parted, but as soon as d'Oliveria had broken through next morning Pakistan collapsed in surprising fashion.

Zaheer with a polished innings of 40 alone looked comfortable against a varied attack. Hutton took his first Test wicket when th had Aftab caught by Knott. This gave the Kent wicket-keeper his hundredth dismissal and the 'double' of 1,000 runs and 100 dismissals in Tests. Price finished the innings with successive balls being denied the chance of a hat-trick because Pervez was ill.

Only two and a quarter hours remained for play and Luckhurst and Hutton used the time to make studied fifties against a variety of bowling.

So the wettest Test at Lord's since the 1954 match with Pakistan, when no play was possible until the Monday afternoon, ended in the tamest of draws.