WTC Final | World wettest championship: How players spend rain breaks

(Representative Image) Play was called off on Day 1 of the WTC final, after about 2.5 hours of heavy rain in Southampton, UK. (Image: Reuters)

“Rain has stopped. Fans are happy. I can hear the dol (sic) and happy singing. And @ashwinravi99 is going to do what he needs to do – have lunch.”

This was a tweet from Prithi Narayanan, the wife of Indian off-spinner R. Ashwin, at 5.52 pm IST on June 18. By then, more than two hours of play on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand had been lost to rain.

Ashwin had his lunch and was also seen walking around the venue, the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Whenever rain interrupts play, fans wonder what players do in the dressing room. And several rain breaks are predicted during this contest. Ageas, the sponsors of the venue, may be an insurance company, but they cannot control the skies.

During a rain interruption, players can’t be on the phone because of anti-corruption rules. As England women’s cricketer Heather Knight wrote on the BBC in 2015, “(During rain) Captain Charlotte Edwards can be seen sighing after reaching in her pocket for her phone several times an hour, only to realise it's not actually there because of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption measures, which mean that all phones have to be removed from the dressing room.”

Players have to find other ways to keep themselves occupied. And these depend on what each person’s priorities are. Some players want rest, others nourishment while some need to enliven things with pranks or indoor games.

In England, especially, the weather is conducive to a snooze and warm food. Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey played county cricket for Gloucestershire, Northants and Durham. In an interview to espncricinfo.com during the 2019 World Cup, he said, “I’d sleep (during rain). You’ve been on the field 120-130 overs, it’s very easy (to fall asleep in the dressing room).”

Hussey was also partial to a bowl of steaming soup. “One thing I loved when I was playing county cricket was to sneak down to the lunch room and have fresh soup,” he said. “They’d have mushroom or tomato soup, with some fresh bread and butter. Ah, it was lovely to have on a cold wet day.”

Sitting with Hussey during the interview was former Indian medium-pacer Ajit Agarkar. “Some protein and a cup of tea”, is what he’d have during rain, Agarkar said. “Played a bit of cards but was just happy to put my feet up.”

Rohit Sharma, one can imagine, would also enjoy a nap like Hussey. The Hitman is known to enjoy his shuteye. In a video call during the lockdown with Ashwin, he said, “It's true that I've never made it to the breakfast table in IPL history (because I am sleeping in), also because of other reasons as it gets very late after matches. I need my 9-10 hours of sleep, that is a must.”

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who played for Lancashire, once said in an interview, “We never wanted it to stop raining, especially in county cricket because we were playing so many games. We’d play a lot of tennis ball cricket in the dressing room. Some would play cards. Some would practice indoors.”

Last year, English players turned to their national passion, football, during a rain break in the home series against Pakistan. Players headed a football towards each other, without letting it touch the ground, till the last man in the chain nodded it into a bin. The move started with Joe Root and James Anderson. Then Chris Woakes headed the ball to Mark Wood. On to Jos Buttler, Dom Bess and Ollie Pope. And in the end Wood lobbed it into the can.

In earlier eras, when dressing rooms were very hierarchical, junior players often had to do whatever the seniors wanted. Ian Smith, New Zealand’s wicketkeeper in the '80s, said in an interview, “I hated rain because I’d have to do menial stuff like cleaning Richard Hadlee’s gear.” Once that was out of the way, Smith would stand in front of a mirror and practice his technique.
Australian women’s cricketer Mel Jones would study during rain breaks.

And Heather Knight wrote in her BBC chronicle that English cricketers such as Katherine Brunt would noisily participate in improvised games such as putting a golf ball in an empty coffee cup. Another player, Anya Shrubsole, was fond of solving Sudoku. Maybe a golf or puzzles coach will start accompanying teams, especially when they are travelling to England.