TOM Moody has warned that Worcestershire and other counties could miss out on money-spinning tourist matches because of the non-stop international schedule.

The County's Director of Cricket was speaking on another blank day at New Road when play against the Indians was abandoned after lunch yesterday because of rain.

However, play finally got under way on time today as the weather improved.

The tourists, including eight of the side beaten by England in the first Test at Lord's, won the toss and decided to bat, with opening batsmen Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag facing the pace attack of Matt Mason and Alamgir Sheriyar.

Jaffer got off the mark with a leisurely single off Mason whose next delivery to Sehwag was steered wide of Ben Smith at gully to the boundary.

Sheriyar's first delivery was clipped off his legs by Jaffer for two runs. Later in the over the Indians moved into double figures with a sweetly driven four by Sehwag.

After six overs the tourists had moved their total on to 23 without loss.

The opening two days of the match were wiped out, and Moody now fears that counties could suffer in the future because of the likelihood of games against star-studded international teams being reduced.

He said: " I think the international calendar its so structured now that there is no other choice but to limit the games that countries get, which is a shame.

"But with the amount of international cricket in both forms of the game now, teams are more likely to come into a country, play only a couple of games and then get on with the series with only a sprinkling of games in between.

"Gone are the days where the team would tour here for four and a half months, like a traditional Ashes tour, and play against nearly every county."

Meanwhile, the date of Worcestershire Royals' Norwich Union League Division One game with Kent Spitfires at New Road has been confirmed as Sunday, September 1.

This follows Kent's narrow Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi-final defeat against Somerset at Taunton yesterday.