Will Luke, Andrew Miller and Andrew McGlashan

Ten balls. That was the sum of the first day's play between West Indies and England in Antigua owing to an unfit, sandy outfield which was eventually deemed too "dangerous" for play. As they scrabble to find a solution, or a replacement venue, we will be keeping this updated as events unfold in the Caribbean

	Antigua's 366th beach © Getty Images

Bulletin - Match abandoned after ten deliveries
News - Third Test moved to Antigua Recreation Ground
Quotes - Captains raised concerns before Test
Andrew Miller - Antigua's lost legacy
Martin Williamson - Insider: 'The game should never have been allowed to start'
Stats - Shortest Tests by balls bowled

3.20pm The fans at the ground, who were not informed of the cancellation until 40 minutes after the game, have hopefully not thrown their tickets away in disgust. If they have retained their stubs, they will get into the ground for free. Fish them out of the bin (or eBay) quick ...

3.15pm Hunte insisted at the press conference that he does not feel this is a resignation issue, although questions must also be asked of the ICC, who did not inspect the ground in the build-up to this match, and instead arrived en masse on the eve of the game.

Here is what Hurst had to say. "In the short term it was not going to be possible to bring this ground up to a condition that would be fit for play. We may have been able to improve it, but there wouldn’t have been a guarantee that no further occurrence would happen. We’ve investigated going to a new venue, the Recreation Ground, there is a suitable wicket and it will be worked on over the next 24 hours so the decision was made to transfer the match."

"This match will now be abandoned, it will stand as a Test match, the game starting on Sunday will be a brand new Test and will the third Test [of a five-Test series]"

3.10pm Andrew McGlashan has emerged from the press conference with lots of caveats to the decision. Perhaps most significantly, there will be no referrals in the match, because according to Alan Hurst, there will be limited camera angles available. Lorgat, who is clearly less than pleased with the WICB (for whom Donald Peters and Julian Hunte were present) adds that the Sir Viv Stadium's future is now under serious threat. As if we hadn't ascertained that already ...

3.04pm It's official - the Test match will start again at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Sunday. A press conference has just taken place, involving Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and Alan Hurst, the match referee. A brave decision, bearing in mind the vast logistical problems that everyone involved will face. But in the circumstances, what choice did they have? Stayed tuned for more updates. This one still has a distance to run ...

Andrew McGlashan is still at the ground and tells us that Sky are packing up their equipment and rigging and miles of cables. It's all over, red rover. No word on where their trucks are heading just yet.

Nasser Hussain quips that the England and West Indies might be at the ARG on Sunday, but there's a strong chance there may not be a game. It's not a lot of time in which to prepare a ground which hasn't hosted a Test since 2006...

The ARG hasn't quite fallen into disuse - it's used for training purposes, and that's where England prepared for this Test. All 10 balls of it. Have a read of Andrew Miller's tour diary for the 2007 World Cup where he visited the abandoned home of Antiguan cricket.

2.15pm
Breaking news: the second Test will take place on Sunday at the Antigua Recreation Ground and it will be restarted, according to Sky Sports. Well, well, well.

1.55pm
Debate continues as to where the Test might be played. Jamaica is being mooted, as is the ARG, but there's also a strong possibility that St Kitts could be a suitable venue. It's less than half-an-hour on a little plane, or a short hour's boat-ride away (see map), and could be ideal for the swathes of English tourists who are currently milling around wondering where they'll go.

1.30pm The ICC are currently at the Antigua Recreation Ground (ARG) where, at 2pm, they will conduct a full meeting to assess its suitability. They are holding a press conference one hour later at 3pm.

"The game of cricket doesn’t need this," said Andrew Strauss. The England players came down and spent quite a while with the supporters, signing autographs and chatting. And, in some cases, keeping the spectators informed of what was happening. Not ideal.

1pm Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, handed a letter to Alan Hurst last night. "We did have concerns about it and I wrote a letter to that effect last night and handed to Alan Hurst. Pointing out that we had serious concerns about the outfield, especially the run-ups."

"This is like the long-jump pit at the school athletic day," spits Bob Willis who is currently and emphatically in his element. It's worth adding that for the poor, touring England supporters, it's unlikely they'll be able to get the Test ready before Monday or Tuesday if they relocate to the old Recreation Ground. And Tuesday, of course, is when this Test should have ended...

"The Stanford ground isn't an option because the pitch hasn't been tendered since November," Andrew notes.

The West Indies' physio emailed the board's CEO, Donald Peters, yesterday with his concerns about the outfield according to Andrew. And we've heard England's physio was similarly unimpressed too. Alastair Cook, speaking to Sky, was disappointed yet unsurprised.

"They have dug a trench at the North End and it's like a sandpit underneath," comments Andrew McGlashan. "They are going to try and re-lay the bowlers' run-ups; the match referee is currently at the ARG (Antigua Recreation Ground) inspecting those facilities."

12.45pm The press conference has taken place, Chris Gayle in attendance among others. We'll have news from our man in Antigua shortly.

The consensus at the moment is that England are dead-keen to get back into this series, but it seems implausible that it'll happen at this ground. The most logical solution would be to play at the old Recreation Ground, but they will need at least two or three days to prepare the pitch (let alone the outfield).

The second over
10.40am Slow hand-clapping now, as this delay extends into its fifth minute. Strauss and Gayle are in deep discussion, just as Atherton and Lara were in 1997-98, and now the match referee, Alan Hurst, is on his way to the middle to join the deliberations.

Yet another aborted run-up, and Edwards flings the ball away in disgust. This is becoming a very serious issue indeed ... Edwards and Gayle are now in discussion with the umpires.

Shades of Sabina Park 1997-98 are in the air here. That was dangerous to batsmen, this is just hopeless for bowlers. There's nothing that Edwards can do about it. He is an elite athlete, who expects, at the very least, to be able to sprint to the crease without fearing that the ground beneath his ankle is going to give way beneath him

1.4 Edwards to Strauss, no run, pinged down, well wide of off stump. This is unsatisfactory, to be frank. There's nothing Edwards can do about it, but bundle to the crease and hope for the best

Another aborted run-up. Edwards grimaces as he gives up three yards short of the crease. He just can't get any balance

1.3 Edwards to Cook, 1 run, tucked away off the hip, and Cook is underway
Another aborted attempt at a run-up. Edwards finds his boots are sinking into the quicksand, and he pulls up short of the crease

Rain stops play Oh dear, that's unfortunate. The shower is sweeping in, and we have a delay. Hopefully it is only a brief interlude. Gnasher, our man on the ground, claims he can see a kid building a sand-castle at fine leg. That's not a kid, it's Ian Bell, who's suddenly got a lot of time on his hands on this trip

1.2 Edwards to Strauss, 1 run, full and outside off stump, and worked into the leg side
Unfortunately, the groundstaff are hovering ... rain in the air

1.1 Edwards to Strauss, no run, good ball but poor shot. Full and just outside off stump. Strauss picks the wrong line, and the ball seems to pass the inside edge. That could have been a calamitous play-on

The first over

0.1 Taylor to Strauss, 2 runs, swinging onto the pads and tucked safely off the hip.
Taylor is already having problems with the run-ups. One aborted attempt, and then that delivery was bowled from in line with the stumps!

0.2 Taylor to Strauss, no run, full length, outside off stump this time, and met with a full face of the blade

Taylor is kicking up sand with every step to the crease. This is not good at all

0.3 Taylor to Strauss, 2 runs, a firm push down the ground, no give in the outfield for the runs either. This really is beach cricket

Which, on balance, possibly gives West Indies the advantage ...
Round the wicket for Taylor, but Strauss pulls out of his stance, which won't improve his early mood

0.4 Taylor to Strauss, no run, decent length, pushing Strauss back into the crease, and fended to gully

0.5 Taylor to Strauss, 1 run, overpitched outside off stump, and that's a handsome checked drive into the covers. Nash opts not to slide to field, which is very wise of him

0.6 Taylor to Cook, no run, down the leg side and half an appeal as Ramdin gathers, but umpire Harper gives that not out

Interesting that Harper is the man in the middle alongside Hill for this Test. The senior umpire, Rudi Koertzen, is on third umpire duty, presumably to prevent more referral farces ... we shall see. Here's Fidel Edwards

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh allrounder, is the first player up for sale from Pool F. There were no bids for him initially but just before the hammer went down, Kolkata made a bid at the base price of $50,000. It was the start of the most dramatic sale at the auction.

Kings XI Punjab entered the race, competing against Kolkata, for Mortaza. The bids spiralled slowly towards $400,000 and when the auctioneer asked Punjab if they want to bid $410,000, Priety Zinta nodded. With teams largely sticking to raises of $10,000, the bidding went on and on and on. Kolkata finally touched the $500,000 mark. Punjab went further at $550,000. The atmosphere in the room grew quieter as the bids rose and the auctioneer attempted to speed up the process. Kolkata was the first to bid $600,000 for Mortaza at which point Punjab bowed out of the race. It was the longest lot in the auction, almost as long as a short chess game. Kolkata's purchase of Mortaza was a bit similar to Ishant Sharma's surprise $950,000 tag towards the end of the first auction last year. Mortaza's $600,000 tag was 12 times his base price - the highest jump at last year's auction was Manoj Tiwary's, from $100,000 to $675,000.

Bet there are celebrations in Narail, Mortaza's hometown. What a moment for Mortaza, he's the first Bangladesh player to be bought at the IPL auction this year. Wonder what Shakib is thinking? He's had such a fabulous year with bat and ball and yet there were no bidders for him. Do the franchises look at ICC rankings? Mortaza's base price was $50,000 and he went for $600,000. I think I missed out England allrounder Samit Patel who was on sale in the previous pool. He remained unsold.

The second player on sale from Pool F is Yusuf Abdulla from South Africa but there were no bids for him. South Australia batsman Daniel Harris and Kemar Roach, a bowler from West Indies, also did not attract bids. Neither did Aaron Bird, the New South Wales bowler, and Michael Dighton, the Tasmanian batsman.

Chennai made a bid for George Bailey, a Tasmanian batsman, for $50,000 and won it because there were no other bidders. Michael Hill, who was the U-19 captain for Australia in the last World Cup, also remained unsold, as did Brett Geeves, the Tasmanian bowler.

Kings XI Punjab asked for Jerome Taylor and they will get him at his base price of $150,000. That brings us to the end of the player auction. It's been intense and manic.

There are ten players in Pool E. Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh opener, is the first player from the pool up for sale. His bidding starts at $50,000 but there are no bidders. None of the Bangladesh players - Shakib, Ashraful and Tamim - have been bought so far.

Jon Moss, the Victoria allrounder, also had no buyers. Moss, a former Victoria allrounder, retired two seasons ago and now commentates on one-day games in Australia. He still plays Sydney grade cricket. Bryce McGain, the Victoria spinner, had a base price of only $50,000 but he too remained unsold. Another Victoria player Aiden Blizzard was also not bought.

New Zealand's James Franklin is returning from injury and has developed into a handy allrounder but the bidders weren't convinced.

Ramnaresh Sarwan's bidding started at $100,000. He played a few games for Kings XI Punjab last season but hasn't been bought this year. Michael Klinger and Kaushalya Weeraratne kept Sarwan company in the unsold group. Klinger, a South Australia batsman, won the State Player of the Year (best domestic player) for the 2008-09 Australian domestic season.

Many reckon that Sri Lanka's Prasanna Jayawardene is the best wicketkeeper on the circuit these days but he too did not attract any bids. Neither did New South Wales' Dominic Thornely, who played for the Mumbai Indians last year.

Remember a franchise can have only ten foreign players on their rolls. Delhi have already exhausted their quota. Pool D's bidding begins, the first player is Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, the world's best allrounder at the moment according to the ICC rankings. Shakib's bidding began at $75,000 but he had no bidders.

Bangladesh's captain Mohammad Ashraful, who's known for his flashy stroke play, did not have any bidders at his base price of $75,000.

Deccan Chargers bought Dwayne Smith, the West Indian allrounder, at his base price of $100,000.

There were no bids for South Africans Gulam Bodi and Morne van Wyk, who is a wicketkeeper, and West Indies fast bowlers Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor, whose bidding opened at $150,000. Australian under-19 and New South Wales allrounder Steven Smith's bidding also start at $75,000 but he too remained unsold. Ashley Noffke, who was Nathan Bracken's replacement at the Bangalore Royal Challengers last season, had no takers either.

The auctioneer was ready to shelve Jesse Ryder into the unsold bracket but Bangalore started the late bidding at his base price of $100,000. Chennai competed and raised the bid to $150,000 but Bangalore eventually bought him for $160,000. His New Zealand team-mate Kyle Mills' bidding started at $150,000, by the Mumbai Indians. There were no other bidders for Mills.

Chennai Superkings started Ravi Bopara's bidding at $150,000. Bangalore raised the bid to $160,000. Mallya raised the bid to $180,000 after Chennai said $170,000. Bangalore and Chennai were the only bidders for Bopara, raising the bid to $200,000, $250,000 and $275000. Kings XI Punjab made a grand entrance at $400,000 and eventually raised it to $450,00, the winning bid.

Ravi Bopara is of Punjabi origin and returns to his roots. There were no bidders for another England allrounder Luke Wright though.

Sri Lankan medium-pacer Nuwan Kulasekara's bidding began at $100,000 but there were no takers. His recent performances against India have evidently not convinced many in India. Kulasekara's team-mate Thilan Thushara was about to be sold to Chennai at $120,000 but Kolkata raised it to $130,000. Chennai clearly wanted Thushara so they went up to $140,000 and got him.

Vijay Mallya, the owner of Bangalore Royal Challengers, has kept the captaincy options open. Minutes after picking up Kevin Pietersen at US$1.55 million, Mallya said he was happy with the price he got him at. "The captaincy options are open. The team management will take a decision on it." The Royal Challengers, who finished second last the previous year, were led by Rahul Dravid. However, Pietersen will be available only for three weeks.

"He's a superb addition to our team and I was very keen to purchase him," Mallya said. "I got him for a price I was willing to pay. We needed to strengthen our batting. I would like him to play for all six weeks (of the league), if not this year then next year.

"We looked at the balance of the team after exchanging Zaheer Khan with Robin Uthappa. We have South Africans, Australians and team balance was important. I was keen to buy Kevin to give it the balance. We are delighted to buy him."

Tyron Henderson's bidding started at $100,000 and the interested buyers were Deccan and Rajasthan. Mumbai eventually raised the bid to $200,000. Deccan bid $300,000 but Rajasthan went up to $325,000 after which Deccan raised it further to $350,000. Rajasthan continued to compete, forcing Deccan to raise their bid to $400,000. Rajasthan raised it to $425,000 but Deccan came back with a bid of $450,000. Not to be outdone, Rajasthan went up to $475,000 but Deccan would not be deterred, raising it to $500,000. The bids continued to escalate and Deccan just when Deccan seemed to have secured Henderson for $600,000, Rajasthan went up to $650,000. Deccan did not raise their bid and Tyron Henderson went to Rajasthan.

Henderson, a medium-pacer, is the leading Twenty20 wicket-taker, with 74 scalps from 62 games. A very useful hard-hitting batsmen too, he was utilised to good effect by Middlesex in their winning campaign in last year's Twenty20 Cup in England.

Australian opener Phil Jaques, and South African batsmen Ashwell Prince remained unsold. Andre Nel also had no buyers.

Bangalore made the opening bid for Paul Collingwood at his base price of $250,000. The hammer was about to come down when Delhi Daredevils raised to $275,000. Bangalore did not raise their bid and Collingwood went to Delhi, who have filled up their two available slots.

Here's a re-cap of the action so far. Both Pietersen and Flintoff sold for $1.55 million, becoming the most expensive players in the IPL. Pietersen was picked up by Bangalore while Chennai bought Flintoff. Duminy, whose base price was $300,000, was sold for $950,000 to Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan made the first purchase of the auction, buying Shaun Tait for $375,000.

Fidel Edwards was bought by Deccan Chargers at his base price of $150,000 but there were no takers for Brad Haddin, Stuart Clark and Chamara Kapugedera.

Delhi Daredevils made a bid for Owais Shah at his base price of $150,000. There were no other bids for a while before it started escalating towards $200,000 and beyond. Delhi continued to bid and raised it to $225,000, competing against the Kolkata Knight Riders, before Bangalore entered the race and bid $250,000. Delhi persisted and raised to $275,000, which was the winning bid for Owais Shah.

Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin remained unsold at his opening price of $250,000. He will re-enter the auction later. Stuart Clark was also not bought at his base price of $250,000.

Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, has been bought by Deccan Chargers for $150,000. it was his base price. There were no takers for Sri Lanka's Chamara Kapugedera, whose bidding started at $150,000.

Kevin Pietersen started at $1.35 million, his base price, and was bid for by Bangalore Royal Challengers. There was a delay before Rajasthan raised the bid. Bangalore, however, raised the bid again and bought Pietersen at a cost of $1.55 million, the same price as Andrew Flintoff. Pietersen and Flintoff are the most expensive players in the league.

Bidding for England's star allrounder Andrew Flintoff started at $950,000. Rajasthan Royals entered the bidding late for Flintoff, raising the bid to $1.5 million, but Chennai's bid of $ 1.55 million clinched Flintoff. Flintoff is now the most expensive player in the IPL.

Mumbai Indians bought South African batsman JP Duminy for $950,000. Duminy's base price was set at $300,000. There was intense bidding for Duminy between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Defending champions Rajasthan Royals have made the first buy in this year's auction, purchasing Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait for $US375,000.

The player auction for the second season of the IPL will begin at 10.45 am in Goa. The franchise representatives are just making their way to the venue – John Buchanan just passed by carrying a backpack – and the media are out in force, waiting for the proceedings to start. There are a massive number of OB vans parked down the hill, waiting for the live feed, and large screens have been set up in the media enclosure.

No money will be carried forward if a franchise doesn’t spend its budget of $2 million but that doesn’t mean the teams are queuing up to splurge. “It doesn’t mean we are necessarily going to spend all our money,” a team official told Cricinfo. “We don’t intend to pay over the odds for any player. At the same time, I’m sure every franchise will be busting a gut to get the players they really need because, at the end of the day, we have cities and fans to answer to.”

Word on the grapevine is that JP Duminy, who had such a sensational tour of Australia, is likely to join the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Andrew Symonds and Kevin Pietersen in the million-dollar club.