"It's been unfortunate but that's the way it is," on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Paul Reifel said. "The groundstaff did their best but the weather 48 hours prior to today made it really difficult for them."

As the on-field officials resigned themselves to fate [or rain and poor planning], another World Cup fixture got rained off with both sides- India and New Zealand- sharing a point each. True to the forecast, a gloomy day dawned over Trent Bridge in the morning. The rain made an appearance around the toss time and continued to play hide and seek throughout the day; much to the agony of the fans and the folklore around the world.

Matched abandoned without a ball being bowled in ICC World Cups:-

WI vs SL Oval 1979 Aus vs Ban Brisbane 2015 Pak vs SL Bristol 2019 SL vs Ban Bristol 2019 Ind vs NZ Nottingham 2019

The dry spells did give the officials to chance to inspect the playing conditions but it turned out to be a futile exercise in the end as persistent rain over the course of past 48 hours had rendered a plethora of damp pitches across the outfield.

Thursday's washout was the fifth game to be abandoned [without a ball being bowled] in the 44-year history of the quadrennial event; three of them have come in this tournament in what has been the wettest World Cup. New Zealand, though, won't be complaining much. After a rosy start to their campaign following wins against opponents, they were expected to beat, and Thursday's encounter was built up as their first proper test of the tournament.

With the game ending in a washout, the Kiwis have now consolidated their position at the top of the table (behind the rain, off-course). As for India, we will now have to wait till Sunday (again, if rain gods permit) to see how the new opening pair of Rahul and Rohit pans out, and off-course who bats at that No.4 spot?

As for the Indo-Kiwi rivalry, thanks to the ICC's insipid planning and the unrelenting and ever falling English rain, the teams will have to wait for India, 2023 to resume their World Cup rivalry unless off-course they find themselves at loggerheads in the knockout phase.

And, as for today, no team lost today but cricket and its ambition of becoming a global sport did take a hit today, as it has done throughout this week, and to sum it up in Marais Erasmus words "It's been unfortunate".