Washed out: British Army T20 Inter Corps final abandoned due to rain in Aldershot

The conclusion of the Army's showpiece white ball cricket event, the Inter Corps T20 Championship, was abandoned due to heavy rain in Aldershot.

Just 10 overs of the already rain-delayed final between the Royal Logistic Corps and the Royal Artillery were possible before a prolonged spell of persistent rain brought the fixture to an abrupt halt.

Earlier rain in the day saw the start time of the final pushed back, meaning the teams would face 16 overs each.

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An hour after the scheduled start, play began beneath blue skies and, after winning the toss, RLC skipper Denson Narayan opted for his side to bat first.

He was soon left to rue that decision as the Gunners' bowling attack claimed a succession of early wickets.

Charles Bevan was the first to fall, departing in the opening over of the contest. He was dismissed by a ball that clipped his off stump from the bowling of Kamal Williams with the score 2-1.

Minutes later, Williams struck again. This time, he trapped the experienced Army Senior team player Keddy Lesporis lbw to make it 14-2.

From the other end, the spin of Simon Taylor added to RLC woes. He enticed Adam Battison into a rash shot. With the batter misjudging the flight of the ball, the sound of the bails being dislodged told Battison his time out in the middle was done as the RLC slumped to 26-3.

Williams' purple patch with the ball continued as he took the prized wicket of Narayan. A rising delivery from the Gunners paceman was edged by Narayan into the gloves of wicket-keeper Craig Ross and, at 32-4, the Logisticians found themselves in further trouble.

Elliot Bevan faced only eight balls before he too was on his way back to the pavilion, bowled by the medium pace of Robbie Foy as the RLC continued to crumble at 38-5 in just the fifth over.

Some solid batting from Winston Wiggins (19 not out) and Farhad Patwary (10 not out) helped to recover the RLC innings and took the score to 64 for 5 in the 10th over when the dark clouds that had been looming overhead finally broke and the heavenly floodgates opened.

With the covers on the pitch and the forecast for further sustained rain preventing the resumption of play, the match was abandoned.

Both sides agreed to start the final afresh early next season, with fingers crossed for better weather.

A date has yet to be confirmed, but organisers are proposing to host the 2025 competition decider in May 2026.