This year’s opening day of the County Championship was almost completely washed out, with many games not even starting after heavy rain caused flooding. Crucial encounters involving Sussex and Yorkshire, in which no play was possible. Each team battled fiercely for important points in their respective fights for safety as well as promotion.
At Hove, Sussex and Yorkshire were both fighting to establish themselves in the 1 st class county championship and avoid relegation. Their wishes would be cut short, for the stormy weather would cause play to be stopped for the day. Both sides are teetering on the edge of the relegation zone, with Sussex desperate to work up enough points to guarantee they don’t drop into the second tier.
Hampshire now finds themselves just above the relegation zone, sitting only six points above second-bottom Durham. Durham is currently down six points in the safety race. On the cusp of a playoff spot, battling valiantly to not be relegated to Division Two. Added to that is the intense pressure that is built up for Hampshire, as they face the prospect of falling into the lower tier themselves.
Worcestershire certainly is in a pickle. All of them need to win their next games to prevent being relegated very soon. Worcestershire, meanwhile, find themselves at the foot of the table. It means they need to galvanise in their remaining matches to avoid relegation back to Division One. As the team’s future could depend on that, it makes their performance and situation over the next week or so all the more critical.
In Derby, Derbyshire’s promotion hopes are still very much alive. They need to be realistic in thinking they must beat Glamorgan. Unfortunately, day one in Derbyshire turned out to be a washout, thanks to Storm Babet. This created very few opportunities for the team to further improve their position.
Other matches experienced cancellations. There was no play between Leicestershire and Kent, while Gloucestershire versus Northamptonshire was abandoned without a ball being bowled around 14:00 BST. The results of the match between Lancashire and Middlesex suffered the same fate, further rubbing salt into the wounds of teams and supporters.
In spite of the reroutings, Warwickshire and Essex will be doing everything they can to ensure that they get their game at Edgbaston on Tuesday. As they look to establish momentum and build support for their continued campaigns, they’ll be keeping a close eye on the weather, too.
As the day’s events soured many football dreams from every sideline, the unpredictability of the situation proved to be all too powerful an enemy.
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