After uninterrupted six games so far in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, the weather gods left their leniency it seems on hosting venues as a storm engulfed Dharamsala on the eve of the England-Bangladesh game at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. The images and videos that have emerged from the last night show that it pelted down for a few hours and the pitch might be under covers and it is not going to get easy for that sandy outfield, which has become the teams' main concern while travelling to that venue.
After Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott raised concerns over the outfield, England captain Jos Buttler labelled it poor in the pre-match press conference and the weather forecast doesn't make it better one bit. Having experienced thunderstorms last night, there is a 65 per cent probability of precipitation during the daytime. Since it is an early start on Tuesday, October 10, the rain might affect the game during afternoon hours with a shower of around an hour expected in the middle of the game.
The forecast suggests that it might be a passing shower and won't be powerful enough to wash out the game. The forecast reduces to just one per cent in the evening as the day progresses, hence it suggests that the result is on the cards. How the pitch and the outfield have coped with the last night's thunderstorm, will be interesting to see when the game begins at 10:30 AM IST as the fears remain.
England lost their opening game of the World Cup 2023 campaign against New Zealand as the Kiwis made a mockery of a 283-run target by chasing it down in just 36.2 overs. The Men in Blue will hope to stage a strong comeback against Bangladesh, a side which has given them heartbreaks a couple of times in the World Cup in the past.
