Tuesday’s first session of the final day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston was wiped out due to heavy overnight and early morning precipitation.
The fifth day of play at Edgbaston was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), but the pitch and square remained completely soaked due to persistent rain.
The umpires then announced that lunch would be served at 12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) in the hopes of a prompt start in the afternoon, with 98 overs scheduled after day three was cut short by rain.
Upon the resumption of play, a dramatic conclusion is likely after veteran England seamer Stuart Broad dismissed the two highest-ranked Test batsmen in the world, Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, late on Monday’s fourth day.
Australia ended the first encounter of this five-match series on 107-3, requiring an additional 174 runs to reach their target of 281 runs.
England scored 378-3 against India in the fourth innings of a Test at Edgbaston last year, and South Africa scored 283-5 in the fourth innings of a Test in 2008.
Australia seeks to win their first Ashes series in England in 22 years, while England seeks to defeat their archrivals for the first time in a Test campaign since 2015.