First one-day international: South Africa v England:
Match abandoned due to rain

There was little entertainment on offer before the match was finally abandoned

Persistent heavy rain saw the first match of the one-day international series between South Africa and England abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The outfield at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg was left saturated following 40mm of rain in three days.

Rain continued for much of the day, and after further inspections the day-night encounter was called off at 1500 GMT.

Attention now switches to Centurion, which hosts the second match on Sunday, a game scheduled to start at 0800.

A depressing afternoon at the Wanderers could not even be lifted by the sight of supersoppers scurrying around in operation, groundstaff deciding that mechanical mopping up would simply dredge up mud.

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The abandonment means that Kent spinner James Tredwell, who had been summoned to replace Graeme Swann, must wait for his debut.

Swann has a side strain and will miss Sunday's match, along with Stuart Broad, who is still struggling with a shoulder problem.

Tredwell was drafted immediately into the England line-up in Johannesburg a day after joining the squad, with skipper Andrew Strauss aware of the Kent man's ability to spin the ball away from South Africa's left-handers.

He was in England's one-day squad for their tour of New Zealand in early 2008 as back-up for Swann, but he carried the drinks for the entire series as England only fielded a front-line spinner in two of the five ODIs.

The 27-year-old will challenge Yorkshire leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who conceded 25 runs in his only over of South Africa's record-breaking score in the second Twenty20 international at Centurion last Sunday.

England's Top 10 ODI players 170 Paul Collingwood (2001-09) 170 Alec Stewart (1989-2003) 158 Darren Gough (1994-2006) 138 Andrew Flintoff (1999-2009) 125 Graham Gooch (1976-1995) 123 Marcus Trescothick (2000-6) 122 Allan Lamb (1982-1992) 120 Graeme Hick (1991-2001) 117 James Anderson (2002-09) 116 Ian Botham (1976-1992)

"It's definitely an option we want to have," Strauss confirmed. "They've got quite a few left-handers, and that ability to spin the ball away from them is an important one.

"But at the same time, Adil is improving - and I think the more exposure he gets to international cricket the better he'll get. Clearly, it is important we have both options."

Tredwell joins a squad struggling with injuries just over a fortnight after arriving in South Africa for the 10-week tour.

Broad missed the two Twenty20 internationals and Paul Collingwood missed the second with a recurrence of the back stiffness that plagued him during the summer, while James Anderson has played through pain in his knee and Graham Onions has also been struggling.

Opener Alastair Cook has been battling a back problem while star batsman Kevin Pietersen has only recently returned to the side after surgery on his Achilles.

Tredwell was in the one-day squad for the 2008 New Zealand tour

Former ODI captain Collingwood will break Alec Stewart's England record with his 171st one-day international appearance if he plays at Centurion on Sunday.

"I wasn't sure I'd play many more after the first four games and I've had a lot of luck along the way, especially with staying injury-free. I had a couple of injuries early on but, touch wood, not so many after that," said the 33-year-old.

"The key to my longevity has been getting the most out of what I have in terms of talent.

"I guess over time you work out the formula, how to get the best out of the skills you've been given, that's forever been the motto I've played under."

Squads for second one-day international:

South Africa (from): Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, Ryan McLaren, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.

England (from): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Joe Denly, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior (wk), Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, James Tredwell, Adil Rashid, Sajid Mahmood, James Anderson, Graham Onions, Liam Plunkett.

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