Ashes test: Rain prevents first day play at Lords

LONDON (Reuters) - The first day of the second Ashes test between England and Australia was rained out at Lord’s on Wednesday without a ball being bowled. Play had finally looked set to get underway after a morning of wet weather, with the umpires calling for a 3:30pm (1430 GMT) start during a dry spell. The sides briefly came out, and the England staff had time to present Jofra Archer with his debut test cap. But the rain began to fall again minutes later, before the captains came out for the coin toss. The sides will now aim to start the match on Thursday, with an extra half-hour of play allowed on each of the remaining four days to make up for the day lost. Australia lead the five-match series 1-0 after an emphatic 251-run win at Edgbaston.