Rain stops play: how climate change is threatening cricket in England and Wales
As the English cricket summer approaches, fans and players alike will be hoping for thrilling contests under clear skies. But with rain disruptions becoming increasingly common, there’s little certainty about what the upcoming season will bring.
While the UK has never been famed for its great weather, recent years have brought particularly unpredictable conditions. In both 2023 and 2024, more than a third of men’s and women’s international white-ball matches in England and Wales were affected by rain, revealed data based on matches recorded on ESPNcricinfo.
On the other hand, 2022 saw one of the least rain-affected summers in recent memory. It was, however, the UK’s warmest year on record, the joint-hottest summer, and the driest since 1995, according to the Met Office.
It has been widely reported that, among all major pitch sports, cricket is the most vulnerable to climate change – a concern highlighted in the Climate Coalition’s 2018 Game Changer report.
Rising temperatures and droughts pose serious challenges to many cricketing nations, but in England and Wales specifically, the primary threat is rain.
The changing climate is driving more erratic and extreme weather patterns, making it increasingly difficult to predict conditions and prepare for matches.
Since 2000, almost a fifth of all international white-ball matches in England and Wales have been disrupted by rain. To break that down further, of the 739 matches played, 40 had reduced overs, 43 were decided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, 33 ended with no result, and 26 were abandoned without a ball bowled.
Clearly, there’s no consistent trend over time. But, if anything, the unpredictability is even more concerning.
Climate change is causing more frequent and severe weather extremes, from heatwaves to intense storms and heavy rainfall. Rising temperatures allow the air to hold more moisture, leading to heavier downpours, while prolonged droughts leave the soil unable to absorb intense rainfall.
Weathering the extremes
With the first international fixture coming up in May and the domestic season kicking off in April, groundstaff across the country are working tirelessly to prepare pitches for a packed summer of cricket. Among them is Gary Barwell, head groundsman at Edgbaston.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that more rain is the issue, but when it does rain, it’s more intense,” Barwell told the Sports Gazette.
“Years ago, you’d get the occasional April shower, but now we tend to get heavier rain over a shorter period. It’s definitely a changed weather system rather than just one specific shift.”
He added: “We seem to have lost the seasons – that’s the biggest thing for me.
“We get extremes now. When it’s hot, it’s red hot; when it’s cold, it can be really cold; and when it rains, it pours.”
In 2024, three games were abandoned, amounting to more than 10% of all matches that summer. No year in England and Wales has seen more abandoned games, except for 2019 – during the World Cup – when the rate was lower at 7.6%.
Incidentally, that World Cup made headlines as an alarmingly rainy affair. The tournament saw four washouts – the most in a single edition.
Journalist Tanya Aldred, who has written extensively on cricket and climate, told the Sports Gazette: “Rainfall patterns have become so extreme, so it’s much heavier, making it more difficult for the soil to absorb. Steady rain is easier for groundstaff to manage.
“Heat is probably more dramatic than rainfall. With rain, play just doesn’t happen. But with extreme heat or air pollution, you see athletes visibly struggling.”
Much like 2022, both 2003 and 2010 saw notably hot, dry summers. Similarly, more than half of the white-ball internationals in 2018 were played in June – the driest June in England since 1925.
Analysis of the data shows that May and September had the highest percentage of rain-affected matches. In contrast, 2005 saw less than 5% of matches disrupted by rain, a year when only two games were played in September, and none in May.
Another possible explanation for the lack of a clear trend over time is technological advancements.
As Barwell said: “We have a lot more technology and science in the sport now than we did 20 years ago.”
Grounds have become better equipped to handle rain, with advanced drainage systems, efficient pitch covers, and improved groundskeeping techniques.
But that does not change the fact that rain stops cricket, and if weather patterns continue to intensify, as they likely will, the sport could be at serious risk.
Aldred said: “With extreme heat, at least you can play earlier in the day or have night cricket. With rainfall, it’s much harder. I suspect we’ll see more games being called off.
“We’ve reached a point where we can’t just stop matches – we have to adapt.”
Has rain affected men’s and women’s cricket differently?
At the other end of the scale, 2008 had the third-highest percentage of rain-affected matches in the dataset. However, two thirds of these were women’s internationals. When looking only at the men’s games, 2008 drops to the eighth most rain-affected year.
A more extreme disparity appears in 2000.
While men and women have experienced a similar overall proportion of rain-affected matches, the trends have diverged – rain disruptions in men’s cricket have generally increased since 2000, whereas women’s matches have seen a gradual decline.
This is likely due to greater investment in the women’s game, with matches being played more regularly at traditional Test venues.
Between 2000 and 2013, women played an average of 10.6 white-ball matches per year in England and Wales. Since the start of the professional era in May 2014, this has risen to 14 – a 32% increase. As a result, the percentage of rain-affected matches for men and women have become more aligned, with the average percentage difference narrowing from 95.1% to 69.6%.
Certain one-off factors have also influence the data. In 2022, women’s T20I matches were disproportionately high due to the Commonwealth Games. Meanwhile, all three matches disrupted by rain in 2018 occurred on the same day during the Marylebone Cricket Club Tri-Nation T20 Series.
What comes next?
Evidence suggests extreme weather events will become more frequent, causing even greater disruptions.
The difficulties faced by Worcestershire County Cricket Club highlight the growing concerns. Their home ground, New Road, has long been vulnerable to flooding, but the situation is growing more dire. In this dataset, half of the matches played there were rain-affected, and after flooding seven times over the 2023/24 winter, the club is now considering relocating.
More extreme and unpredictable weather is yet another factor contributing to the decline of longer formats. Test cricket is already struggling as audiences increasingly favour fast-paced entertainment. But one practical issue is that the longer a match lasts, the more vulnerable it is to weather. As the dataset shows, only 11.2% of T20Is were rain-affected, compared to 22.9% of ODIs.
One proposed solution is scheduling more reserve days to accommodate rain-affected matches. However, these are typically reserved for tournament knockout stages, and their wider use remains unlikely due to logistical challenges.
Of course, the impact extends far beyond the international stage. As Aldred pointed out: “It’s one thing at a professional level, where groundstaff can work to remove excess water, but at a recreational level, that’s just not possible.
“I’ve spoken to people at a recreational level who are considering amalgamating clubs because it’s easier to throw all your resources into one ground.
“The authorities talk about the growth of the game, but that won’t happen if it becomes too difficult to play.”
The issue, at least, isn’t being ignored. Initiatives like The Next Test aim to raise awareness of cricket’s climate challenges, while The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has introduced sustainability strategies to help grassroots clubs.
However, awareness alone won’t be enough. As extreme weather shifts from an occasional disruption to a defining feature of the game, cricket must go beyond adaptation – it must prepare for a future where playing conditions are permanently reshaped by the climate crisis.
