England's hopes of building on an unbeaten opening stand on day one of the fourth and final test against India stalled after rain prevented any play after lunch at The Oval.
With a 3-0 series lead and top spot in the test rankings already in the bag, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook guided England to 75 without loss before heavy rain over south London sent spectators scurrying for cover and prevented even an inspection by umpires.
The ground was almost empty after four hours without a ball being bowled and play was eventually abandoned at about 5 p.m. local time.
But the two hours of play on offer were enough for England to further cement its domination of the tourists.
Having won the toss, Strauss had opted to bat in overcast conditions and reached 38 from 74 deliveries from a lethargic attack lacking penetration.
And Cook, whose 294 at Edgbaston last week set up an innings victory, took his test average past 50 with his 34 not out.
Of the four bowlers employed in the first session, only Ishant Sharma extracted much pace or movement to trouble the batsmen. He beat the bat of both openers and smashed Strauss' helmet.
India otherwise continued to struggle with injuries and English conditions - as they have all tour.
Although captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side needs victory to salvage some pride after three demoralizing losses, Sreesanth and RP Singh barely troubled Strauss and Cook with their unchallenging medium pace.
With Zaheer Khan and Harbajan Singh already out injured, Praveen Kumar was replaced by Singh for his first test since April 2008.
Kumar was initially thought to be absent because of the thumb injury he picked up in the third test, but Indian team management announced during the scheduled tea interval that he had damaged his left ankle in the same match.
Singh looked rusty, though after a first over featuring four bad deliveries down the leg side he did have a shout for lbw turned down in his next. He struck Cook on the thigh of his back leg with a delivery that replays showed was heading a little high.
The only other incident of note in a truncated day's play was when Strauss, who drove with ease and scored five fours, misjudged a ball from Sharma when on 24.
The England captain shaped to hook before hesitating and getting struck on his helmet. The ball smashed the peak, sending a bite-sized chunk of plastic spiraling into the air and forcing a break for Strauss to be delivered a new helmet.
But with spinner Suresh Raina sending down two of the last four overs before lunch, England's batsmen were mostly untroubled. England has now averaged more than 54 per wicket in the series, compared to 24 for India.
