It never rains but pours as England face 120 defence well undercooked

AT ONE stage here, warm-ups having been abandoned as drizzle turned to windy downpour, only Jofra Archer remained, tearing across the increasingly sodden outfield in a series of shuttle runs.

- Malik Ouzia

That, you thought, would be all England need: their premier and most fragile bowler slipping and sliding his way to a twisted ankle or jarred knee while going through the gears ahead of a washed-out game he was not even slated to play. Thankfully, either Archer or one of England's medical staff saw sense and called the exercise off.

And so, a few hours later, did the umpires with this match; the second in three between England and Pakistan to bite the bullet without a single delivery being bowled. The forecast for tomorrow's Fourth T20I at the Kia Oval is stormy, too, and England are now in danger of boarding Friday's flight to the Caribbean for their World Cup defence worryingly undercooked.