COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Old Trafford:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY ONE: Nottinghamshire 8-0 v Lancashire
Match scorecard

The umpires had no choice other than to call play off early at Old Trafford

Championship leaders Nottinghamshire were frustrated by the weather on day one of their match against Lancashire.

The visitors won the toss and chose to bat at Old Trafford, but only one over was possible before rain ended play with Notts 8-0.

The only consolation for Notts was that title rivals Somerset and Yorkshire also faced weather problems.

Notts began the final round of matches two points ahead of Somerset, and seven ahead of Yorkshire.

Victory with a haul of 22 points will guarantee Notts their second title in six seasons, but anything else could let Somerset or Yorkshire in.

Despite the soggy weather, the Old Trafford pitch is expected to be good for spinners, with Lancashire picking left-armers Gary Keedy and Simon Kerrigan, while Notts will rely on another left-armer Samit Patel and the part-time off-spin of Adam Voges.

Play only began at 1130, but both Keedy and Kerrigan slipped trying to field balls in the slippery conditions as Alex Hales clipped a boundary to deep backward square leg and a three through mid-on.

But once drizzle returned and proceeded to get heavier, umpire Neil Bainton told BBC Radio Lancashire there was little option but to abandon play for the day.

"It's very wet, we've had four hours of pretty persistent rain," he said. "It was quite damp before we started and unfortunately it's made it unplayable.

"The groundsman said that it would take two to three hours to get the ground in a reasonable condition and that takes us to our six o'clock finish, so it wasn't worth hanging around any longer today."

Unlike Test matches, overs from rain-affected days are not carried over in the County Championship, meaning a maximum of 96 overs will be available on Tuesday.

But with more rain predicted for the north west overnight, Bainton admitted he was not optimistic about a prompt start on the second morning.

"If the forecast is correct I think we're going to be struggling to start on time," he said.

"I believe it's forecast that there will be a couple of inches of rain overnight, so we'll come in in the morning, take a look at the ground and hope the groundsman can get it ready for as early a start as possible."

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