Persistent rain at Edgbaston saw the opening day of Nottinghamshire’s crunch County Championship clash with Warwickshire completely washed out.

Overnight rain across Birmingham had left the outfield saturated ahead of the planned 11:00am start, and the precipitation failed to relent until the early afternoon.

When it finally did, the sun had actually emerged from the hibernation it had taken and hopes of a much-delayed start were raised.

However, it took only a brief visit to the edge of the square from the umpires to determine that conditions were already too wet, and play was abandoned just after 3:15pm.

The loss of an entire day was a frustrating one for what appears to be the clash of the round in the Championship.

Nottinghamshire top Division One with 135 points, while Warwickshire sit only five points back in third, with both sides having lost only once in nine outings so far.