Wet weather hits Chelmsford

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The second day of Essex’s LV= County Championship Division Two match with Hampshire was called off after heavy rain throughout the morning.

The Essex players and umpires, Steve Garratt and Mark Benson, were already on the field waiting for play to start at 11am when the rain started and sent them scurrying back to the pavilion.

Head groundsman Stuart Kerrison wasted no time in covering the pitch and the surrounds but as the weather quickly deteriorated - with the rain becoming torrential at times - pools of water appeared on the outfield.

With no let-up in the elements, play was called off for the day at 1:40pm.

Essex have now lost 10 complete days of championship cricket when not a single ball was bowled and three of the county's last four days have been wiped out by the weather.

Last week, the final two days of their match with Gloucestershire at Cheltenham were abandoned and now the same fate has befallen the second scheduled day of this current match.

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