Cook fifty fails to brighten day three

Date released: 17 May 2008

Batsmen: Andrew Strauss (31) & Alastair Cook (53)
Bowlers: Kyle Mills (Pavilion End)
& Chris Martin (Nursery End)

Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook are stranded on 89 without loss, chasing New Zealand's 277, when rain stops play. Persistent drizzle ends with the day's play being called off at 5:30pm.

Ticket news & lost time

Os has emailed in to ask about tickets for tommorrow. Good news Os, there are tickets available. They'll be sold from the North Gate from 9am. Prices range from £40-65 for adults; £20 for under 16s. Arrive early to ensure you get yours.

Simon R emailed in to ask about all the lost time and will it will be made up? Well Simon, the news, hot from MCC's Cricket Office is "yes".

There will not be an early start - play will begin at 11am tomorrow. However, there is provision to add an extra 30 minutes and/or if more play is lost tomorrow, a potential extra hour of play may be added to the end of the day.

Even more reason to get a ticket for Sunday if you don't have one! Thanks for all your emails, see you tomorrow cricket fans.

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England 1st innings

5:30pm: That's it. Even the umpires have seen enough of the rain to call it a day today.

What a miserable day.

If you were at Lord's today hold on to your ticket, you can claim a refund. Refund conditions are on the back of your ticket. In a nutshell send it, with your name and address to: Valassis Ltd., Dept P8001, Corby, Northants NN17 1NN.

Do not send your tickets back to Lord's

4:48pm: Guess what? As the inspection's due, the rain starts again. Hoods and umbrellas go up and spirits go down - quite likely in both senses of the word 'spirits'.

4:13pm: The velvet-voiced Johnny Dennis is back with good news. The umpires will be inspecting the pitch again in about half an hour.

4:01pm: Brollys down again but they've been up and down like yo-yos today.

Half-time in the FA Cup Final, Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff.

3:40pm: That is, officially, tea. TEA Eng: 89-0

If you're recording the FA Cup Final to watch later, tell me now as I fear the noise from next door might have just given away the current score and I might follow suit...

3:29pm: The umbrellas are back up again... Johnny Dennis does indeed come onto the tannoy but to tell us tea will be taken at 3:40.

3:14pm: There are people walking around with their umbrellas closed, which is always a good sign. We expect to hear the velvet tones of Johnny Dennis on the PA system, telling us when the next inspection is soon.

3:08pm: It's starting to look a little brighter here and the breeze over the Pavilion is stiffening - hopefully that will move those rain clouds on and we can get some more play.

3:03pm: If you think you're missing the FA Cup Final, you're not. They've only just kicked off and it's still 0-0.

Cricket's far better anyway... right?

One of the Lord's wristbands 2:50pm: If you are reading this at the Ground, or are coming to Lord's tomorrow or for Monday's play you might want to know about the Lord's wristbands.

If you've got young cricket fans as part of your group, you can get them a wristband, free at the gates. With some key details on them, if the child gets lost, the wristbands will help the Lord's Stewards reunite them with you again.

• More about the Lord's wristbands

2:45pm: That drizzly, mizzling (miserable) rain is back again. It would seem unlikely the umpires will even bother with the 2:50pm inspection if it's still raining. Sigh...

2:42pm: We're still receiving your emails at Live@Lords.org.

Matt has emailed in. He, quite rightly, points out that rain is "all part of the game" but he still hopes it stops. You and me both Matt.

Where are you enjoying the game from? Whether you're at work, sat at home or even one of those techno-marvels with a PDA and are following this from inside the Ground, drop us a line: Live@Lords.org.

2:22pm: The umpires have completed their inspection but even the Lord's outfield doesn't drain that quickly. They've called for a further inspectation at 2:50pm.

2:16pm: Back to the cricket, with the umpires not out there inspecting the pitch just yet. The match is still finely poised. New Zealand lead by 188.

Realistically if England are to have any hope of getting a win from this game, they'll need to bat just once to leave enough time to bowl New Zealand out again.

With Strauss and Cook both looking fairly settled that's not entirely unfeasible, provided they can get enough time on the pitch to set-up a decent lead.

2:08pm: The Lord's outfield really is a fascinating thing, honestly. It's been described as "the world's largest putting green" due to it's sand-base, that helps with the fast-draining.

If you're coming to Lord's this year, your major match ticket will get you a two-for-one offer on the Tour of Lord's. The Tour includes the MCC Museum, which has more information about the pitch, its composition and the extensive work it took to lay it.

• Find out more about Lord's Tours and the 2-for-1 offer

Mick Hunt receives a special award after the India Test in 2007 2:04pm: The prospects of play are good. As I was just telling my lunch companions, Mick Hunt and his groundstaff received a special award last year, after their work and that famous outfield saved the India Test Match.

The rain was significantly heavier and more prolonged on that occassion but once it had stopped the players were on the pitch again within hours.

2:00pm: Lunch was lovely, thanks for asking. During the break there was a fair scattering of rain, which hasn't helped matters much.

However, the good news is, the rain has stopped now and the umpires have called for an inspection at 2:15pm. Fingers crossed the famous Lord's outfield can work its fast-draining magic.

12:29pm: The umpires have called for an early lunch at 12:40 - hopefully enough to give this rain time to pass by.

12:26pm: The bell-ringing is something MCC Secretary & Chief Executive Keith Bradshaw (standing to Claire Taylor's right) is keen to develop.

A number of dignitaries have been invited to ring the bell during Test Matches - Sir Ian Botham, Sir Viv Richards and Sunil Gavaskar are amongst those who have been asked to ring the bell.

The five-minute bell, situated outside the Bowlers' Bar, is rung to signal the players, much like the bell at a theatre.

Charlotte Edwards rings the five-minute bell - click for more photos 12:12pm: Stick with us though, we'll do our best to entertain you during what is, hopefully, a short delay.

Why not while away a few minutes looking at the great match photos we've got? The first snap of today's play shows England Women's Ashes-winner Charlotte Edwards ringing the five-minute bell to start today's play.

There are more great photographs from yesterday too - including some well-timed pictures of splayed Kiwi stumps.

12:10pm: Well, that didn't last long did it? Just long enough for Cook to get his fifty and the players are off the field for rain.

12:07pm: Groans around the Ground as the rain gets heavier and the covers are called on. Cue hover-cover darting on from the Nursery End as the players dart off at the Pavilion End.

12:03pm 30th over: Another frugal over from Martin... another one ruined by a no ball.

11:57am 29th over: A warmly received fifty for Cook. He tried the same shot twice - Daniel Flynn's diving stop prevented the first - but he found the gap to bring up his half-century with a boundary.

11:56am: Claire, following the match in Cambridge, has emailed Live@Lords.org to ask more about the famous faces at the Ground today.

Well Claire, I can tell you Mick Jagger's been watching the Test so far - surely the most famous face... and what a face.

11:55am 28th over: Martin fizzes in a bouncer to "Oooohs" from the crowd, but Strauss rocks back out of the way. It's followed by another no ball and Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori is stony faced.

Another uppish one and Strauss is ready for it this time, easing back to clip it over the slips for four.

11:50am: We've got a new email address, to help you contact us. The punchier and easier to remember: Live@Lords.org is the address for you to send in your comments and questions.

_11:48am 27th over: Another no ball from Mills and he's ruining his maiden count and taking the pressure of a static scoreboard off the batsmen.

11:45am: Just to help you picture this in your mind's eye, we've added the over numbers too. The odd numbers are bowled from the Pavilion End; even from the Nursery End.

11:42am 26th over: Three runs in lots of ways - Cook flicks it down to third man; three Kiwi fielders chase it down and the England batsmen run three.

11:41am: It does seem brighter today not much but a little. There's still a lot of cloud cover and even the odd sprinkle of rain - barely enough to even say it's 'spitting' though, blink and you'd miss it.

11:40am 25th over: Mills helps keep the scoreboard ticking over with a no ball.

11:38am: Lots of dignitaries in the Ground today - not least of which the Ashes-winning England Women's team. More on them later.

11:37am 24th over: Another tight over from Martin - just the one run from it.

11:31am 23rd over: A lively maiden from Kyle Mills keeps to score at 68. He got some real movement there too - one delivery went right through Cook and even had McCullum scampering behind the stumps to stop it.

• Day two's match updates

11:28am 22nd over: Chris Martin finishes the over left after bad light yesterday and it's a cagey maiden. Strauss settling in again.