West Indies v England, Jamaica, 1998

A corrugated pitch meant that some balls skidded and others flew up at the batsmen. Mike Atherton won the toss and batted, reckoning that the pitch would crack up even more as the game went on, but, after 61 balls and less than an hour’s play, the game was abandoned because it was dangerous. The England batsmen, who had reached 17 for three, had been struck seven times in the ten overs. Wisden called Alec Stewart’s innings “the most heroic nine not out in history”.

Pakistan v England, Karachi, 1969

The third Test was abandoned on the third day because of violent student protests and pitch invasions. Alan Knott was left unbeaten on 96, four shy of his maiden Test hundred, when the game was called off.

England v Australia, Headingley, 1975

When the teams arrived for the final day of an intriguing Test — Australia needing 264 more to win with seven wickets in hand — they discovered that the pitch had been vandalised by people protesting at the imprisonment of a certain George Davis for armed robbery. Oil had been poured on the pitch and part of it slashed with knives. The umpires had no option but to abandon the game.

England v Pakistan, Brit Oval, 2006

When Darrell Hair signalled a five-run award to England because he suspected ball-tampering by Pakistan, he sparked a sequence of events that led to the match being abandoned and, ultimately, the umpire losing his job. Inzamam-ul-Haq led a Pakistan sit-in, refusing to play, so Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded the game to England. Bureaucrats are still squabbling over whether it should have been a draw or not.

India v Sri Lanka, Calcutta, 1996

Chasing 252 for a place in the World Cup final, India slipped from 98 for one to 120 for eight in the face of superb bowling from the Sri Lanka spinners. The disgusted home fans set fire to the stands and threw fruit and bottles on to the pitch, forcing the match referee to stop the game and award it to Sri Lanka by default.

Seven Tests have been abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain. When the third Test between England and Australia in Melbourne in 1971 was called off, the officials agreed to replace the Test with what would be the first one-day international.