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The second T20 of the series between England South Africa turned out to be an exciting no contest with the rain in Manchester preventing a result. The match got off to a delayed start and a revised 9 over contest was scheduled. South Africa got through their 9 overs and posted a competitive 77-5 on the back of an excellent unbeaten 47 from their man of the summer, Hashim Amla. England in response were 29-2 in 4.1 when the heavens opened one final time, and prevented the game from continuing. Both teams need to play a minimum of 5 overs for a result to be possible, the par Duckworth-Lewis score for England at the end of 5 overs was 42-2.

England won the toss and elected to make use of the overcast conditions in Manchester, by putting the Proteas in to bat. The start of the game was delayed though as the rain refused to relent.

When the match finally got underway, a nine over contest with a three over powerplay period was declared. Steve Finn gave England the perfect start by getting rid of the dangerous Richard Levi for a first ball naught, caught behind down the leg side. Hashim Amla though was in his stride already, and was spanking boundaries over the infield with gay abandon.

Amla failed to get any support from the batsmen at the other end with AB de Villiers (1), Albie Morkel (3), JP Duminy (5) and Justin Ontong (1) all failing to get into double figures. However, it mattered little as Amla kept the runs coming freely at the other end.

The bearded run machine finally found a reliable partner in Jacques Kallis, and the duo added 28 runs unbeaten for the 6th wicket to help South Africa to a competitive score.

England made a slow start to their chase, with the rain already falling once again in Manchester. Craig Kieswetter played 6 deliveries to score 1 run before falling to a wonder catch by Robin Peterson off Dale Steyn. Alex Hales and Luke Wright pushed the England score along to 29 before the latter fell for 14, caught off Albie Morkel on the last ball of the day.

The teams will now regroup for the 3rd T20 in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Teams:

England: C Kieswetter (wk), A Hales, E Morgan, J Bairstow, J Butler, L Wright, S Patel, S Broad (c), G Swann, S Finn, J Dernbach

South Africa: R Levi, H Amla, J Kallis, AB de Villiers (c&wk), JP Duminy, J Ontong, A Morkel, J Botha, R Peterson, D Steyn, M Morkel

Mini-Scorecard:

South Africa: 77-5 (9 overs, 8.55 rpo)
H Amla 47* (30) L Wright 1-4
J Kallis 13* (7) S Finn 2-17

England: 29-2 (4.1 overs, 6.96 rpo)
A Hales 11* (8) A Morkel 1-0
L Wright 14 (11) D Steyn 1-10

Washout

File Photograph Copyright: ICC World T20