After two years of qualifying and many more of planning, the showpiece event got off to a dismal start on Friday, as relentless rain hammered the Southampton Bowl.

The morning session was quickly wiped out and while a small proportion of the limited 4,000 crowd hung around in the hope of seeing some action as the day progressed, there was never any realistic hope of play.

The inevitable decision was made by umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth at 2.48pm, with the players set to reconvene on Saturday morning.

A reserve day has been built into the planning of the event but a decision on whether or not to activate the extra time will be made later in the match depending on how much additional time is lost.

India have already named spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in a five-man bowling attack while the inclement weather might encourage New Zealand to go for an all-out seam attack.

Australian Associated Press