9.25 pm The match has been officially abandoned.
Well, the MCG had 11,369 people. Not sure how many of them actually stayed until the plug was pulled. But we appreciate all of you who have stuck around, even if there was no cricket to relay. Come back tomorrow for a scheduled tripleheader. Until then, take care!
8.55 pm Another follow-up bulletin from Alex Malcolm. The covers are back on again because the rain is coming down hard once more at the MCG.
8.42 pm Alex Malcolm says that the covers are being removed ahead of the scheduled inspection at 9.00 pm, but that more rain is on the way.
8.30 pm Our man down under Alex Malcolm is reporting that more rain is on the way. Prospect of a match is looking pretty grim at this stage. However, an inspection is scheduled for 9.00 pm. Read into that what you will.
8.05 pm We're now officially losing overs. Covers have come off. An inspection is due at 8.20 pm. Check that... covers being rushed back on as the rain has returned.
7.50 pm With no toss in sight, we're approaching the time where the match will begin to lose overs.
7.15 pm Covers are still on the field as the rain continues to hammer down at the MCG. If it keeps going at this rate, we'll have overs deducted.
Tim: "Don't like this idea of playing two games at the same ground. The second game seems to be delayed most of the time without weather interference as it is but if rain does affect the first game, the second is immediately under pressure from over reductions not to mention the threat of further delays."
6.52 pm More rain has halted the England chase. Enough to make it likely that they won't get back on the field before the official cutoff time. It also means that the start to Afghanistan v New Zealand will be further pushed back. It's now official. Ireland have beaten England by five runs on DLS.
6.30 pm England are only beginning their 13th over of the chase now. So we won't just have a delayed toss but a delayed start to Afghanistan v New Zealand as well because ICC rules stipulate a minimum of 30 minutes between matches played on the same ground at the tournament.
6.05 pm Good evening and welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live coverage of the second half of today's doubleheader from the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup as Afghanistan take on New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I'm Peter Della Penna and will be joined a bit later by Shashank Kishore. This match is going to be a bit delayed due to the spillover from the England v Ireland match after rain delayed the Ireland innings earlier in the day.
But what that delay does mean is that you all have a great opportunity to check out Crictos digital collectibles by FanCraze. Through this tournament, we're picking the best moments from the games with our video experts in a daily show. And if you want to actually own a piece of those moments, they are available as digital memorabilia on FanCraze, ESPNcricinfo's digital collectible partners. On FanCraze, you can pre-buy iconic moments from each match of the World Cup called the Crictos of the Game.
