It’s often said in cricketing circles, that if you’re about to host a big cricket match, be prepared for the rain to come along too.

This year the international cricket series with the West Indies has been seriously affected by inclement weather up and down the country.The first test was almost a washout in Dunedin. Napier was one of the few places where the gods smiled for the whole match.

The first one dayer was abandoned in Queenstown, hail halted play for some time in the 2nd match in Christchurch, Wellington escaped without interruption although it was windy and Auckland yesterday started off dry and humid but the cloud and rain rolled in later.

What must be frustrating for the organisers is that either side of the scheduled matches, the weather has often been brilliantly fine and in some cases, very hot.

Last summer however was a different story with the touring England team and almost no play was stopped by bad light or wet weather. It’s just one of those things that we can’t control but it can be so frustrating for the officials, players and of course the fans.

There have been occasions however when rain has come to the aid of a side that has been struggling and about to lose a match. The game ends up being a draw when the heavens have opened but if you’re on the winning team, you’d be wanting to build an indoor arena asap!

On one occasion in England, a first class game was called off due to snow on the pitch…let’s hope that doesn’t occur for the remainder of the summer here!

Fingers crossed that the last match in the series on Tuesday in Napier is fine but there is the risk of a shower with a coolish southerly at this stage. The touring Indians arrive in a few weeks time – on current form perhaps the Black Caps might want to pray for rain!!

Weather Analyst – Richard Green