First day washed out ... and prospects bleak

The start of the first day of the Intercontinental Cup play-off tie between Namibia and Nepal at Windhoek was washed out, and the prospects are that the whole match will be a stop-start affair.

Namibia, like much of southern Africa, has had the wettest rainy season in 30 years, and over 500mm has fallen in Windhoek in the last six weeks alone, almost double the usual annual rainfall. On Tuesday night a massive storm dumped 70mm of rain in a little over an hour.

Although the outfield at The Wanderers was very wet, the pitch itself remained dry. The forecast for the next few days is bleak and it is increasingly likely that the game might not even start. If so, then Namibia will qualify for the group stage of the tournament. If the teams do take to the field, then the side gaining the most bonus points will go through.