RAIN, as it did on the first day, took centre stage once again in yesterday’s third day of action between Guyana and England Lions’ fifth round West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional four day cricket match at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Having kept the players off the field for five hours and 15 minutes, play got underway at 15:45hrs with England Lions, who bowled out Guyana for a meagre 78 in their first innings the previous day, thanks to Christopher Woakes’ 5-18 that included a hat-trick, reached 68-3 before another shower forced the players off the field at 16:24hrs.

The Lions who resumed on 42 without loss, lost their two overnight batsmen in Craig Kieswetter (25) and Adam Lyth (18) in successive overs to Assad Fudadin and Brandon Bess respectively when play got underway to be 47-2, before Jonathan Bairstow lifted Bess over the slips cordon to third man for four to raise the 50 from 8.5 overs.

Benjamin Stokes (01) had earlier replaced Lyth, but he did not hung around long enough, as Fudadin knocked back his leg stump off an inside edge, leaving England Lions on 53-3 in overcast conditions, before Bairstow struck Bess for two fours in successive overs.

England Lions moved to within 10 runs of Guyana’s meagre first innings score of 78, before the  heavens opened up for the fourth and final time of the day and stopped play at 16:24hrs, with Bairstow on 14 and Andrew Gale 6, while Fudadin has so far taken 2-6 and Bess 1-31.

Weather permitting, play will get underway at 09:30hrs on the final day today.