Napier: 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.


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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.