The rain caused problems for everyone - players, spectators, umpires, and scorers in the later part of the games on Saturday.

Spectators dived for coats, umbrellas or made the decision to go inside, while players made comments to umpires about the weather - but really it has nothing to do with the players. The umpires are in sole charge of the ground, weather and light.

The umpires often have to decide regardless of the state of the game as to whether or not to come off in drizzle. The MCC law says its entirely in the umpire’s opinion as to whether conditions are unreasonable or dangerous. Some umpires regard unreasonable as getting a little damp, others will play longer in rain hoping it might ease off as long as it’s safe. Some sides in a potential winning position will want to stay on, while those on the losing side will want to come off and drop hints to the umpire which usually falls on deaf ears. They will not be influenced.

The game I watched on Saturday saw the umpires play a couple of overs in light drizzle then mid over when it got a little heavier, they made the decision to come off and have the covers put on. The fact that there were only nine balls left to bowl to reach the required 20 overs to constitute a game was irrelevant, safety to all must come first. Then the questions from the side who were in the driving seat started as to what happens now and the umpires explained the time lost would mean Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) would play a part and the target altered if they got back on.

The scorers have a part to play in this because the DLS comes into play once the umpires have agreed conditions to allow the game to restart and have told them how many overs they have left to play, then a new target is set. This was duly done and a result achieved. This scenario was played out in most Premiership games and probably many others - the only ones escaping were those who were chasing low totals and managed to get the game finished before the rain arrived.

It was a case of teamwork all round from the match officials which is how it should be.