Jofra Archer will have to wait a day to make his highly anticipated Test debut after heavy rain forced play to be abandoned without a ball being bowled in the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

Archer received his England cap from close friend Chris Jordan during a brief break in the otherwise appalling weather with the toss imminent, only for the covers to come back on and the showers to set in for good.

The umpires made the call to abandon play around 4.20pm local time and the match will officially become a four-day fixture with the toss taking place on Thursday and overs added to the end of each day. The follow-on margin, if required, will be reduced to 150 accordingly.

Archer shared a warm embrace with Sussex team-mate Jordan, also born in Barbados, after the cap presentation on the Lord's field. Jordan, who played eight Tests for England in 2014 and 2015, has shared in Archer's rapid rise through international ranks since he became eligible to represent England earlier this year, with the pair playing a T20I together against Pakistan in May, which remains Archer's only T20I appearance. That was two days after Archer made his international debut in an ODI against Ireland.

With a vastly improved forecast for Thursday, play looks likely with Josh Hazlewood set to line up for Australia at the expense of Mitchell Starc after both were included in a 12-man squad while James Pattinson rests for this Test.

England still have a selection call to make on whether they risk not playing spinner Jack Leach, given the shortened match, and pick Sam Curran instead. Should they opt for Leach, there is a possibility Curran could still play ahead of Joe Denly.