NOTTINGHAM, June 11: Rain washed out the opening day of the Australians' three-day match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge today.

The touring team were anxious to give newly-arrived paceman Paul Reiffel some match practice ahead of next week's second Test against England at Lord's, but he was left kicking his heels in frustration.

Umpires Barrie Meyer and Jack Bond abandoned play for the day after a mid-afternoon inspection.

The Trent Bridge outfield had been left saturated by torrential overnight rain, although the players did practise in anticipation of a prompt start.Despite the fact Australia won the toss and decided to put Notts in, the rain returned 10 minutes before the scheduled start. Further showers ruled out the possibility of getting the game underway.

As expected, Australia had included Reiffel in their side.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.