NAPIER, New Zealand: Rain and a damp outfield forced the abandonment of the second one-day international between New Zealand and Australia without a ball being bowled in Napier on Thursday.

The series will now be decided in the final match in Hamilton on Sunday. New Zealand won the series opener by six runs in Auckland on Monday and a follow-up victory would see them regain the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy they lost in a 3-0 whitewash in Australia in early December.

The rain eased off in Napier around the time of the scheduled 2:00pm start and the umpires at one stage announced a new time with the game reduced to 37 overs.

But the outfield never dried sufficiently for play to get underway and the match was abandoned five hours later. -AFP