The second ODI, in Napier, was abandoned without a ball being bowled, after heavy rain persisted until mid afternoon, and left the ground too sodden for play to begin. The skies had begun to clear well ahead of the game’s cut-off time of 7:19 pm, but with the outfield having received more than 24 hours of persistent rain, umpires Billy Bowden and Bruce Oxenford decided not to risk player safety.
The game was called off just before 6:30pm. At that time, portions of the field still appeared waterlogged despite hours of drying with super soppers. Pakistan can now only draw the series at best, as the action moves to Auckland, for the final match of the tour, on Sunday.
