LONDON traffic chaos delayed play at The Oval this morning when Kent’s players failed to arrive at the ground for day two of their championship clash with Surrey.

A burst water main at Hyde Park Corner, coupled with a road accident on Park Lane, brought central London to a grinding halt and turned Kent’s 15-minute journey from their Bayswater hotel into a nightmare.

Ed Smith, who was travelling with Matthew Fleming, bailed out of the car and the traffic jam to travel to the ground by tube, leaving Fleming to sit for a further hour and a half in the congestion.

Fleming, speaking on his mobile phone, said: "We usually stay at The Thistle Hotel for games at The Oval and it takes 15 to 20 minutes. We left at 8.30am but have travelled two miles in the last two and a half hours.

"We’ve heard it’s down to a burst water main, but Hyde Park is at a standstill and Buckingham Palace Road is closed too.

"We thought about just parking up and leaving the cars somewhere, but in London you’d just get them towed away. To make matters worse Min Patel’s car has overheated in the jam. We’re just doing our best to get there at some stage."

Smith arrived at the ground to liase with skipper David Fulton, who travelled to the ground by train and tube, and discuss the situation with match umpires Barry Duddleston and John Steele.

The officials said the time lost to the delay would be made up by adding half an hour to each remaining session and that Kent’s players, when they do finally arrived, would be given 30 minutes pre-match warm-up time.

Kent hold a narrow 42-run advantage in the game after being dismissed for 153 in 43 overs of a rain-interrupted opening day.