Rain washes out 1st Twenty20 between South Africa and Australia at Port Elizabeth

South Africa and Australia were denied potentially useful preparation for the World Twenty20 tournament when the first of their three-match series was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Sunday.

Rain fell throughout the morning at St. George's Park. Although it halted briefly around the time that the Twenty20 match was supposed to get underway, it soon returned to wipe out any chance of play.

The two teams are to meet in Durban on Wednesday, while the scheduled third match of the series is at Centurion on Friday.

South Africa begins its World Twenty20 campaign with a game against Sri Lanka in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on March 22, while Australia plays Pakistan in Mirpur the following day.