Umpires Rob Bailey and Ian Blackwell held an inspection at 1pm and decided no play was possible on day two of the Vitality County Championship match between Essex and Surrey.
Heavy overnight rain on top of an already saturated outfield made the decision inevitable despite the efforts of the Chelmsford groundstaff to shift thousands of litres of water.
The officials made their decision to allow the ground the chance to dry and enable play to take place on the third and fourth days when an improvement in the weather is forecast.
Only 111 minutes were possible on the first morning when Essex reached 116 for the loss of Robin Das’s wicket. Dean Elgar and Tom Westley will continue their unbroken 112-run second-wicket stand when play resumes.
