Joe Root denied World Cup warmup innings as England-Ireland 1st ODI abandoned

The match was called off shortly before 5pm, with the run-up at the Kirkstall Lane End deemed unsafe following wet weather

The first ODI between England and Ireland at Headingley was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to wet weather.

The ground was already saturated due to overnight rain and persistent showers continued until mid-afternoon.

Despite the best efforts of the grounds team, play was called off shortly before 5pm due to damp run-ups at the Kirkstall Lane End.

^{Joe Root was due to play at Headingley [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

^{Headingley's grounds team battled against the weather [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]}

The cut-off for a 20-over match was 5.32pm.

"I saw the forecast earlier this morning and thought it would stop raining earlier. So I was very disappointed that we didn't get a game on," said England captain Zak Crawley.

"It was just the run-up [at one] end. It wasn't fit for play and I think that was probably right in the end. It was very wet and would have churned up if we'd played on it. It wouldn't have been fit for the bowlers.

"You've got guys tearing in there and you don't want guys not performing at their best, that's not what people come to see. They probably made the right decision."

England had named something of an experimental squad for the series to give their World Cup players a rest before traveling to India, with four uncapped players selected.

However, Joe Root was due to play at Headingley in an attempt to find some 50-over form ahead of the World Cup.

Since the 2019 World Cup final, Root has scored just 390 runs at 27.85 in 19 ODIs and has only passed 30 once in his past nine innings.

On whether Root would play at Trent Bridge on September 23, Crawley continued: "I think he's going to rest now until the World Cup. That was the plan before, anyway. I'm not certain. If he wants to have a bat that's his decision."