Mumbai: Play in the first session of the three-day tour opener between the visiting Australian cricket team and Ranji trophy champions Mumbai here today was washed out because of damp ground coniditions following heavy thunder showers last night and this morning.

Umpires K Hariharan and T K Handu inspected the pitch, the square and the outfield at 11 a.m and decided to have another inspection at 1 p.m. before announcing when play can start.

The sun was out shining brightly before the scheduled start at 9.30 a.m, but water had seeped under the covers to render the area adjacent to the pitch damp.

The outfield had also taken a drenching from the rains and efforts were on by the ground authorities to remove the water and make play possible in the post-lunch session.