Cardiff washout denies England whitewash
Wednesday, 03 Sep 2008 23:40
Rain denied England the chance of a 5-0 series win
The fifth one-day international between England and South Africa has been abandoned after persistent rain meant only three overs of play was possible.
After rain delayed the start of the game in Cardiff, England won the toss and elected to field. Stuart Broad struck in the second over to leave the Proteas on 6-1 before the heavens opened once more.
The ground staff at the Swalec Stadium were kept busy as showers passed but inevitably came back just as the umpires were due to inspect the pitch.
All hope of getting some kind of match completed was finally dashed just after 6:00 BST with 20 overs per side needed for the result to be official.
The washout not only denied England the chance of a series whitewash but also the opportunity to leapfrog the Proteas in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) one-day rankings.
If England had completed a 5-0 win they would have moved into second place behind Australia, however, the abandonment leaves them on 116 points – level with New Zealand.
Although the British weather meant England ended the series on a slight anti-climax they can be pleased with the progress made during the series.
Kevin Pietersen remains undefeated as captain and Andrew Flintoff has returned to form with the bat, topping the averages with 187 from three innings.
Wicketkeeper Matt Prior also seems to have cemented his place in the side with 14 dismissals during the series – not including another spectacular effort to get rid of Herschelle Gibbs today that eventually counted for nothing.
England will hope to continue their good run of form when they play in the lucrative Stanford Series in the West Indies in October.