Pakistan, chasing 159 from 32 overs to beat England in constant drizzle in the Cardiff day-nighter, set off quickly to be 46-1 after seven overs.

But umpires Billy Doctrove and Ian Gould then took the players off.

Stuart Broad took a wicket in his first over of one-day international cricket as England tried to fight back having been bowled out for just 202.

Ian Bell hit an excellent 88 in that effort, while Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif shared six wickets.

Interview: England batsman Ian Bell

By Paresh Soni

MATCH ABANDONED

2137: The news we were expecting - the umpires have seen enough and abandon the game.

2105: It's no surprise when the umpires discuss the weather and they go off with the rain coming down hard.

7th over: More bad luck for Gough as Hafeez top-edges a pull this time and it flies over the keeper. He's trying desperately hard but nothing is going his way as the next ball is cut fiercely past backward point for four more. One way or another this game will not last long! 46-1

6th over: Broad over-pitches and Younis cracks it elegantly through mid-off for four. The considerably reduced crowd is being pelted by heavy rain as Younis top-edges a pull to long-leg and it bounces over the rope just before the venerable Gough can get to it. Young Broad is convinced Younis is lbw with the last ball but Doctrove is unmoved. 38-1

5th over: Hafeez pulls Gough through mid-wicket with some power as the rain falls steadily. This is no fun for bowlers, with the ball difficult to grip. Hafeez then edges just short of Strauss at second slip. Maybe they need to stand a bit closer? 30-1

4th over: A steward in a garish jacket holds up play by moving around behind Broad's arm and is hauled away for a talking to. A tidy over from the youngster. 23-1

3rd over: Gough gets one on target to find Hafeez's edge and it bounces just short of Trescothick - Read could have got to that if he had dived. 21-1

3rd over: Gough is struggling with his direction and another leg-side delivery comes off Hafeez's thigh to race away for four more. It hasn't been dull that's for sure!

2nd over: WICKET Pakistan 12-1 (Malik lbw b Broad 5)
Broad starts his ODI career with two wides but then produces a beauty to trap Malik plumb leg-before. 14-1

1st over: Broad slides along the backward square-leg boundary to keep the batsmen down to three. You have to wonder about the wisdom of day-night matches - particularly this late in the summer - in England. 10-0

1st over: The farce of trying to play this game in these conditions is illustrated when Bell slips, two runs are taken, and Gough says he is having trouble holding the ball. The next ball slips out of Read's gloves and goes for five wides down the leg-side. This cannot go on for long - surely?

2028: Strauss has his players in a huddle. They will need to produce something pretty special to pull off a victory in this one. The ball should dart around under the lights. Will England's bowlers be able to control it and get it on target?

2011: The umpires say play will resume at 2031, when Pakistan will need 159 off 32 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

1954: A bit of good news to report: the rain has stopped and the umbrellas have gone down. The question now is how long it will take to get the ground ready for a resumpton.

1930: OK, the rain is still falling and the umpires have been out to have another look - goodness knows why. If it has stopped in about an hour, we may have some cricket. We can have a re-start as late as 2121, with 20 overs bowled.

1913: There is no further news, I'm afraid, and the rain is steadier now. A reduction in the overs bowled by England, with an adjusted target, looks inevitable now.

1852: It looks more promising as the covers start coming off and the umpires chat to the groundsman, who checks his watch several times. Just when it looks like an announcement is imminent, it begins raining again.

1844: Well the players should have been coming out by now but the scene is a gloomy one in Cardiff, with rain coming down steadily if not heavily.

INNINGS BREAK

50th over: WICKET England 202 all out (Gough c Malik b Afridi 18)
An interesting move sees leg-spinner Afridi handed the ball for the last over and it pays off when Gough holes out to long-on. It looks a below-par score from England but, if they get early wickets, you never know.

49th over: Intelligent tail-end batting and two wides from Naved help England up to 200-9

48th over: Broad, with a 6ft 7ins frame and the face of a 12-year-old, gets his first run in international cricket with a nice push out on the off-side off Asif. Two more come for him down to third man - which may turn out to be valuable runs later on. Asif ends with impressive figures of 3-28 off 10 overs. 192-9

47th over: Gough begins Shoaib's final over by thrashing the ball past backward point for four. The third is slogged over mid-on for two more and the fourth is top-edged to the fine-leg fence. The sedative of the painfully slow scoring earlier appears to be wearing off as the fans come to life. Shoaib finishes with 3-45. 186-9

46th over: The suffering home crowd is cheered up when Gough collects two off Asif. Broad, who began as an opening batsman at school, shows good technique to keep out the last two deliveries. 176-9

45th over: WICKET England 173-9 (Mahmood b Shoaib 1)
Mahmood gets nowhere near several Shoaib deliveries and it's all too predictable when the ball crashes into the timber. That's a double-wicket maiden and five wickets for seven runs in five overs for Pakistan. 173-9

45th over: WICKET England 173-8 (Clarke c Malik b Shoaib 6)
Clarke carves Shoaib's wide long-hop straight down Malik's throat at third man. Huge roars greet Gough's arrival but even he will struggle to pull the hosts out of this mire.

44th over: Mahmood, inexplicably promoted ahead of Gough and Broad, plays a nice flick to get his first run. Akmal misses an opportunity to stump Clarke by yards off Hafeez's next ball. The off-spinner completes a fine 10-over stint with figures of 1-33. 173-7

43rd over: Clarke flicks another 90mph-plus delivery from Shoaib down to fine-leg for a welcome boundary. England need every bonus they can get here. Shoaib is treading dangerous ground with the last ball when his slower ball almost becomes a second beamer. 171-7

42nd over: WICKET England 167-7 (Read c and b Hafeez 0)
What a shambles. Read gets a leading edge to his second ball and Hafeez gleefully gobbles up the opportunity to leave England in danger of being skittled. 167-7

41st over: WICKET England 166-6 (Dalrymple b Shoaib 27)
More misery next ball for England as Shoaib cleans up the hapless looking Dalrymple with a 92mph special to reach 200 ODI wickets. 166-6

41st over: WICKET England 166-5 (Bell run out 88)
Bell's dream of a first ODI hundred is dashed when Afridi's throw hits the target. The batsman was forced to swerve wide of the bowler and Doctrove's finger went up in a flash.

41st over: Shoaib (with ponytail) is back. Fasten your seatbelts.

40th over: No sign of that good old-fashioned thrash yet. Just the two off that Hafeez over. The seamers are likely to return soon. 163-4

39th over: Dalrymple gets his first boundary, off his 43rd ball, when he edges Afridi wide of keeper Akmal. 160-4

38th over: Another milestone for England, the 150, and the stage is set for a good old-fashioned thrash in the last 12 overs to get close to 250. 152-4

37th over: The first show of aggression for a long while sees Bell loft Afridi to the mid-wicket boundary. The bowler exchanges some pleasantries with him and he responds with a cut for four more and Afridi steps up the verbals. Bell doesn't care - he has his highest ODI score of 82 - and the partnership is worth 50. 148-4

36th over: Both batsmen adopt the sweep shot as the way out of this situation and, finally, the runs begin to flow. 138-4

35th over: Afridi almost snaffles a brilliant catch off his own bowling when Bell drives firmly back to him. Drinks are taken, and presumably a message will have been sent out to the fifth-wicket pair to get on with things. 131-4

34th over: Something will have to give soon, England cannot go on just picking up two and three an over. The pressure is building after another good over from Hafeez. 127-4

33rd over: Inzamam will be loving this - three come in Afridi's next over. 126-4

32nd over: Hafeez keeps them down to two with more tidy bowling. Where is the onslaught going to come from? 123-4

31st over: Bell almost plays on to an Afridi googly. The overs are disappearing quickly and runs are not coming anywhere near as fast as England would like. 121-4

30th over: A shocking attempt at fielding from Shoaib gifts Bell and England their first boundary in seven overs. That was merciful relief after a stifling period. 118-4

29th over: Afridi almost gets past Dalrymple's defences. The Middlesex man has an important admirer in Duncan Fletcher but it's difficult to see him winning matches for his country. 111-4

28th over: We're going through one of those passages of play which make one-day cricket far from compulsive viewing. The ball is being nudged around for occasional singles. 110-4

27th over: Afridi races through his next over - Pakistan need to improve their rate, hence spin at both ends. 106-4

26th over: Dalrymple's second run, a quick single off off-spinner Hafeez, takes England to 100. They will need at least double that to be competitive. 101-4

25th over: WICKET England 98-4 (Collingwood lbw b Afridi 14)
Collingwood, who looked uncomfortable, is rapped on the pad by a quick and straight one from Afridi and Doctrove puts his finger up. A blow for England when these two looked like they could rebuild the innings. 99-4

25th over: The first dose of spin. Afridi, who pushes through his leg-breaks almost at medium pace, replaces Naved. Bell cuts him for a single to reach his fifth ODI fifty off 71 balls, with nine boundaries.

24th over: Bell's confidence is soaring and he scampers through for two off Razzaq, although a good throw would have sent him packing. 97-3

23rd over: A meaty drive from Bell sends the ball thudding to the long-off boundary and he follows it by cracking a full-toss through mid-wicket. After an unconvincing start he looks in the nick he showed in the Tests. 93-3

22nd over: Two singles and a no-ball keep the scoreboard ticking but Collingwood would have been lbw to Razzaq but for a strange decision from Gould. 84-3

21st over: Bell, now timing the ball well, crisply drives Naved through extra-cover for two and Afridi does well to stay on his feet in the wet outfield. 81-3

20th over: Razzaq's sequence of 10 dot balls is ended by a typical one-day shot - a lofted on-drive on the move from Collingwood for four. 79-3

19th over: Shoaib's attempted slower ball goes horribly awry and floats dangerously over Bell's head. Doctrove has a word with the "Rawalpindi Express" - one more warning and he's out of the attack. Shoaib, having undone the ponytail he sported earlier, is then square-driven sumptuously. 75-3

18th over: Asif's superb spell of 8-3-19-3 comes to an end, with Razzaq replacing him. The all-rounder is on the button immediately with a maiden. 70-3

17th over: Collingwood pulls a no-ball bouncer from Shoaib powerfully for four. It almost carried for six. Mick Jagger loved that. Bell ends a good over for England with a quite majestic square-cut. 70-3

16th over: Asif concedes runs off the bat after 22 balls, an extraordinary sequence in one-day cricket, and even then they come to Collingwood off an inside edge. Drinks are taken as the rain abates. 60-3

15th over: Bell angrily pulls Naved for four, almost like a boxer landing a retaliatory blow in the face of a barrage of accurate punches. He has somehow moved to 28 when he could easily have been out by now. 57-3

14th over: WICKET England 51-3 (Pietersen c Akmal b Asif 2)
A magnificent spell of bowling earns Asif reward as Pietersen edges behind and Akmal pounces. As the batsman trudges off light rain starts falling. England are once again on the rack in a one-day game. 51-3

14th over: It might be stretching reality to say this but Asif does appear to think Pietersen is his rabbit. He has him in all sorts of trouble with a short delivery which hits the Hampshire blaster on the helmet.

13th over: Bell edges a Naved outswinger just short of slip and it races away for four. Finally there is a shot of authority as the next ball is clubbed away to the cover-point boundary to take England to 51-2.

12th over: Gould belatedly signals the second power play. Pietersen is troubled by two deliveries from Asif which jag back sharply and Bell almost edges one that seams away behind. A second successive maiden for Asif. 42-2

11th over: A massive scare for Bell, who chases a wide one from Naved and edges high to Younis, who gets his finger tips to the ball at second slip but it runs away for four lucky runs. Umpire Doctrove fails to signal that the second power play has been taken and Bell is comprehensively beaten by a good delivery. Pietersen gets off the mark with a single and Shoaib comes back on to the field. 41-2

10th over: WICKET England 35-2 (Trescothick c Akmal b Asif 16)
Frustration gets to Trescothick who tries to carve away Asif with an ugly swat and gets the faintest of edges. It was the latest instalment in a tortuous summer for the Somerset left-hander and, once again, England's hopes depend on a certain KP Pietersen. Two of his last three innings have ended first ball to Asif but he survives this time. 35-2

9th over: Naved comes on for Shoaib, but it won't be much easier for England. Mick Jagger looks concerned and, apart from a firm push for three to Trescothick, there isn't much to lift the veteran rocker's spirits. 35-1

8th over: Asif continues to bowl tight lines, keeping the scoring down to two. 32-1

7th over: Trescothick also pushes through the covers for two but another false stroke sees a genuine edge go wide of the slip region. There is respite for him as Shoaib goes off for treatment. 30-1

6th over: Bell drives through the covers for two and dispatches the last ball of Asif's over, a half-volley, through the same region for four. England needed that - you can't help but feel Pakistan will not be as circumspect as this later on. 26-1

5th over: Bell, hardly the type to destroy a bowling attack with a brutal assault, gets going with a single off Shoaib. Trescothick is then beaten twice and it's been a subdued start from the hosts but, ominously for Pakistan, Shoaib limped through that over. 20-1

4th over: WICKET England 14-1 (Strauss c Afridi b Asif 2)
Strauss top-edges a pull off Asif and Afridi takes an easy catch at square-leg. He looked all at sea throughout that short innings. Trescothick gets his second four, with a more convincing shot than his first, by guiding a leg-side delivery off his hips down to fine-leg. 18-1

3rd over: Strauss has a remarkable escape when he plays the ball down and the back-spin brings it back on to the stumps - but the bails stay on! Trescothick completes another good over from Shoaib by edging wide of the slips for the first boundary. 14-0

2nd over: Strauss and Trescothick pick up a single each and Asif, struggling to control a swinging ball, bowls two wides. 7-0

1st over: A fine first over from Shoaib, apart from a wide to start with. Neither batsman makes contact with the ball, and Strauss could well have been given out lbw with the fourth delivery which hits him on the pad in line. 2-0

1428: Out come the players, with England desperate to halt, well, a desperate run in one-day cricket. All seven games this summer have been lost.

1405: Strauss, as is his wont, puts a positive spin on losing the toss and says he is happy to bat despite a bit of grass on the pitch, which will help Pakistan's strong pace attack. The skipper will open with Trescothick, with Bell dropping down to three.

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Jamie Dalrymple, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read (wkt), Sajid Mahmood, Darren Gough, Stuart Broad.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif.