CHRIS Read’s Devon comeback was cut short when rain stopped play against Shropshire at Sandford after an hour.
Read, the former England wicketkeeper and current Nottinghamshire captain, was playing for Devon to get some match practice in.
The 38-year-old keeper-batsman may be retiring at the end of the season, but as skipper has one last task: to get Notts promoted back to Division One of the County Championship.
First Class cricket is in the middle of a five-week interruption right now while Twenty20 cricket takes centre stage.
Read wanted some red-ball cricket ahead of the resumption of Notts’ promotion push next week with a game against Derbyshire.
All Read got was 11 balls in 12 minutes – and a few of them from ex-Leicestershire pacer Alex Wyatt whistled past the outside edge.
Twenty years after he last played for Devon – the occasion was the 1997 Minor Counties play-off win over Bedfordshire – Read was nought not out in a total of 30 for two.
The men out were opener Tom Ansell, caught at slip, and lbw casualty Matt Thompson.
Batter Jack Dart dropped out of the selected 12 the day before the game due to a knee injury.
Play can start half an hour early on day two at 10.30am, and finish half an hour later than usual at 7.30pm to make up some of the lost time.
Devon 30-2 v Shropshire, Rain stopped play. Today: 10.30am-7.30pm.
