Rain delays start at Edgbaston

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Early morning showers delayed the start and with rain forecast for most of the day, the prospect of a full match to entertain the 16,000 crowd seemed bleak.

Following an inspection by umpires Steve Davies and Ian Gould, it was decided to begin a 29-overs-a-side match at 3pm providing there was no worsening of the weather.

England, emphatic 114-run winners in the opening match at Chester-le-Street on Sunday, looked set to name an unchanged line-up after opener Alastair Cook was ruled out with a shoulder injury once again.

Essex left-hander Cook has not played any cricket since first reporting the discomfort at the end of the final Test at Trent Bridge nearly a fortnight ago and will be examined at the National Performance Centre in Loughborough later on Wednesday.

Andrew Strauss has been called into the squad as cover for this match, but is unlikely to break into the starting line-up if the weather eases later on.

New Zealand, heavily beaten in both the Twenty20 international and Sunday's match, have made one change to their line-up by giving all-rounder Grant Elliott his one-day international debut as a replacement for out-of-touch batsman James Marshall.

Elliott was called into the squad on Monday as cover for injured all-rounder Jacob Oram, who has been suffering with a hamstring problem but they are hopeful he may recover for the final two matches of the series in London.