England v Zimbabwe, NatWest Series, Tuesday 1 July 2003 Headingley, Leeds

A day of little cricket and a lot of drizzle left Henry Blofeld calling for cricket's administrators to apply some common sense.

And after the success of the Twenty20 format, Blowers was baffled as to why it could not have been adopted in this instance when a brief shower stopped an entertaining game dead in its tracks.

Cricket continues to find ways to shoot itself in the foot Jonathan Agnew

"It's a nonsense. One-day cricket is the crowd's game and they need to be considered," he said after only an hour of action in Leeds.

"By the time the players reached the edge of the grass it had stopped raining.

"You can't blame the umpires. The administrators need to put their thinking caps on PDQ and we have to be less prissy about playing in light rain.

"It doesn't need to be black and white, like the clouds it can be grey."

His calls were echoed by England captain Michael Vaughan.

"If you get people in the crowd you need to entertain them," Vaughan said.

"A lot of people have taken a day off work. It's disappointing for them and equally disappointing for us, a little bit of leeway could have been a good thing."

Johnson's Champagne Moment

There may have been a lack of action out in the middle, but in the commentary box it was as busy as ever.

And the scene in the morning resembled a school prize-giving day.

Bill Frindall unveiled his certificate for the hirsute broadcaster of the year, but more significantly - if that is possible - Richard Johnson came to collect his Champagne Moment bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

Johnson won the award for his fifth wicket at Chester-Le-Street on his Test debut.

The Somerset seamer was first picked for England's tour of South Africa in 1995, only for his chances to be scuppered by injury.

"I'm still only 28, but people think I'm a bit older as I've been around for a while," he said.

"In cricket terms eight years is a long time. I was first picked when I had an injury, but I knew when I was selected the chances were that I wasn't going to go.

"I've always been in and around the squad and it's always frustrating to get left out, but I felt if I kept taking wickets I'd get my chance - you keep chasing the dream."

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Johnson has no intention of resting on his laurels having broken into the Test team.

"I had waited a long time and it was nice to finally get out there - it was good fun. Taking wickets is what it's all about," he added.

"To finally do it is nice, but that's where it starts."

And he is fully aware that his chances of further Test caps have improved following Andy Caddick's back injury.

"It's harsh but that's how it works out," he said of his county colleague's injury and the helping hand it has given him.

"Andy's a bit down at the moment, but I'm sure he'll fight back."

The soggy scene through the Headingley box window made for a depressing picture and set off a perennial debate - when does persistent drizzle become rain?

In a country often obsessed by weather, particularly during Wimbledon fortnight, Henry Blofeld felt that there must be an answer.

And Graeme Fowler was on hand with his own slant, ending the discussion with one single blunt observation.

"It's the size of the drops," Foxy declared, doing his best John Kettley impersonation.

As a former Manchester man he has more experience of rain than most, and his authority of delivery on the subject left little room for further debate.