The game, scheduled to start at 10:30 BST, was called off at 15:45. Both teams took a point from the washout - only the third in World Cup history - and have five from their opening three matches.

England plays Bangladesh at Cardiff and Afghanistan faces unbeaten New Zealand at Tauntonon Saturday.

The square remained under cover until 14:00 at Bristol and, although the rain stopped, the umpires called the match off after two pitch inspections. Although the rain wasn’t heavy, it was enough to force a delay of more than five hours and render several parts of the outfield too wet to play on.

The rain had cleared briefly before the decision was made to call the game, but there was not enough time to do the necessary clearing up to allow for a shortened contest. The sky was still cloudy when the final inspection was held, keeping in mind a 20-over-a-side game.

The only other game to have been affected by rain since the tournament started on 30 May was Sri Lanka’s win over Afghanistan in Cardiff, which was reduced to41 overs per side.

Pakistan will now enjoy a five-day break before facing Australia in Taunton, while Sri Lanka’s next game is against Bangladesh at Bristol the day before.

The (no) result means Sri Lanka will have to wait even longer to break its World Cup duck against Pakistan. The head-to-head reads 7-0. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won one and lost one match each in this World Cup.

Pakistan lost to West Indies by seven wickets in its opening match before beating favourite England by 14 runs.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, lost to New Zealand by 10 wickets and brought its campaign back on track with a 34-run victory against Afghanistan.

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