As England pressed for victory in their one-off Test against India, two factors stood in their way: the weather and Shafali Verma, the 17-year-old wunderkind of women’s cricket.
While India’s men were watching the rain wash away the first day of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton, their women were following on at gloomy Bristol, with Verma doing her best to light the place up.
When the third day’s play was abandoned at 5.30pm, the Indians were 83 for one in their second innings, and still trailed by 82.