The Cape Town First XI’s second league match entailed a first visit to the Arnold Bloch Oval in Goodwood since December 2010, but that was as far as things got. Overnight rain had challenged the length of the protective covers, such that while the pitch itself remained largely unscathed, the bowlers’ run-ups leading onto the square were not so lucky.
A particularly muddy section on the edge of the square at the South end of the ground proved to be the chief stumbling block to play getting underway, the umpires not being satisfied that it was safe for bowlers to run across it. They thus elected to wait in the hope that it would dry sufficiently, but in constant heavily overcast conditions and with no wind to aid the drying process, it looked increasingly unlikely that anything would materially change. An early lunch was taken to limit the amount of lost time, but it was all for naught – by 13h30 it was obvious that further waiting would achieve nothing practical, and the players shook hands to share the points.
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