Incessant rains over the last five days have battered Orissa and thrown life out of gear. “We don’t have the right to call the match off officially. But we have already announced the dates for ticket refunds which obviously means the match has been offically abandoned,” Orissa Cricket Association secretary Asirbad Behera was quoted as saying by PTI yesterday. The last ODI in Ranchi too was abandoned due to rain. Australia lead the seven-match series 2-1. “It’s likely that the players won’t turn up and only the officials would come to make the announcement,” Behera added.

The OCA secretary, meanwhile, has also spoken to Board president N Srinivasan to shift the three-day practice match between the touring West Indies and Uttar Pradesh CA to some other city. The game is scheduled to begin on October 31.