Zimbabwe's 12th man 'Mr Weather' edges them nearer series win

Umpires Douglas Cowie of New Zealand and Salim Badar of Pakistan called off play following eight inspections.

Zimbabwe lead the series 1-0 after they beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the first Test in Peshawar, their first ever test victory away from home. The second Test at Lahore was abandoned on the fifth day due to fog.

``I have never seen so much fog in my life and after lunch the conditions did improve but it was still unplayable from one end,'' Cowie said. Weather reports suggested the fog was likely to persist.

``It is unusally dense fog and we think that it will continue until rain comes and clears the air,'' an expert said.

On Friday morning the covers will be lifted for a first inspection by the umpires.

Both teams awaited the good news which never came, with Pakistan hoping for a chance to level the series.

``It's very very unfortunate that there is no play on the first day, we now have just four days to save the series but I think there is only a remote chance of play starting on time on day two,'' Pakistan coach Javed Miandad said.

``We are counting on the hours as we are on course to win our first ever series, the mere thought of it is really very pleasing,'' Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell said.

If the match starts, both teams are likely to play with at least two spinners. Pakistan have the option of playing a third spinner by including allrounder Shahid Afridi.