The mischievous interplay between shine and rain claimed cricket as its unwitting, helpless victim. No more than 45 minutes and ten overs of play was possible at the Junction Oval on Friday, dealing a further blow to India's preparations ahead of their first Test against Australia beginning on Wednesday.
The Australians arrived here from Hobart in the morning, and must have been pleasantly surprised to see the sun out in all its intensity. They would have been equally gladdened to see India's progress scuttled by heavy afternoon showers. Afterall, it was a day off for the Aussies after their 2-0 triumph over the Kiwis in the Chappell-Hadlee one-day series, and they wouldn't really have minded their Test rivals being denied valuable acclimatisation to the conditions here.
The predictions of heavy downpours through the night remained unfounded. Friday dawned bright and sunny, the golden ball looking determined to dissipate the moisture from the saturated Junction Oval outfield.
Blazing sun
In the event, despite the sun blazing down with all its majestic intensity, underfoot conditions courtesy Thursday evening's sensational rains meant play didn't get under way until 12.15 pm, an hour and three quarters behind the rescheduled starting time.
Sure enough, by the time the Victoria Bushrangers took the field, the sun had disappeared behind the dark, ominous cover of clouds that had materialised out of nowhere. The light was getting progressively worse and the threat of rain loomed large as Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly sought to move on from their overnight 110 for three.
Dravid was becalmed for almost the entire short passage of play. Only five more runs came off a further 35 deliveries faced on day two of the three-day match, but that was immaterial. The Dravid of not so long back, sure of his off-stump and happy to let deliveries sail past, was on full view.
As much as the rest of his team, the 34-year-old himself will have been delighted at having made the most of the opportunity to bat long this early in the tour, and especially after a none-too-spectacular outing against Pakistan at home. It seemed almost incidental, given the time he spent in the middle, whether he would open in the first Test or not.
Unlike Dravid, Ganguly looked to continue taking the attack to Peter Siddle and Allan Wise. He took the odd chance, once slashed perilously close to wicket-keeper Matthew Wade, and fell no more than a quarter of an hour after the start, inside-edging a drive off Wise to short mid-wicket after a stand of 83 (196b) with his one-time deputy as well as skipper.
Yuvraj Singh, a good bet to play at the MCG, barely had time to get his eye in when the players broke for lunch at 133 for four. A few minutes later, the covers came out as the skies opened up, first with deceptive gentleness and then with increasing intensity. It was no more than form — and sensitivity towards the 500 people gathered at the Oval — that forced umpires Reiffel and Ward to put off the official abandonment of the day's play till 3.25 pm.
