Australia v Pakistan Warm-up: Rain has no match

Rain had the final word as the ICC Champions Trophy warm-up game between Australia and Pakistan was washed out after only 10.2 overs of play on Monday.

Australia and Pakistan match was washed out after only 10.2 overs of play here on Monday.

Rain had the final word as the ICC Champions Trophy warm-up game between Australia and Pakistan was washed out after only 10.2 overs of play here on Monday.

After winning a good toss under overcast conditions, Australia decided to test its batting might by taking first strike in a match already shortened to 34-overs-a-side because of bad weather. It lost David Warner to Mohammad Amir in the fifth over, but Aaron Finch and Steven Smith carried it to 57 for 1 before rain forced the abandonment.

Finch was in particularly fine touch, reaching 36 from as many balls with seven fours-three of which came in a row in a Fahim Ashraf over.

Smith, the skipper, took his time out in the middle with a cautious eight from 17 balls with one hit to the fence. Australia and Pakistan were both involved in close clashes in their opening warm-ups against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh respectively before ending on the right side of the result, and would have liked some game time in what was their last warm-up fixture before the tournament begins.

Australia, the two-time champion, kick-start its Group A campaign with a game against New Zealand here on June 2 before facing Bangladesh (The Oval, June 5) and England (Edgbaston, June 10).

Pakistan, in Group B, takes on India at Edgbaston on June 4 before running into South Africa (Edgbaston, June 7) and Sri Lanka (Sophia Gardens, June 12).