England and South Africa were left frustrated by the Cardiff rain as the opening match of the one-day series was washed out at the Swalec Stadium.
The hosts reached 37 without loss from 5.3 overs of play before the heavens opened, forcing umpires Richard Kettleborough and Kumar Dharmasena to give up any chance of squeezing a game in during the time remaining.
The contest had already been reduced to 23 overs per side after wet conditions had delayed the action from getting underway until 3pm, nearly five hours after the scheduled start.
Ian Bell did briefly brighten the gloom with two huge sixes on his way to 26 not out from 18 deliveries, with skipper Alastair Cook at the other end unbeaten on 10.
The hosts had named Ravi Bopara - back in action following a break from the game for personal reasons - in their XI while in-form Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes took the place of the rested Stuart Broad.
South Africa, meanwhile, were without Dale Steyn and Ablie Morkel, both players failing fitness tests on the morning of the match, but had included uncapped batsman Dean Elgar.
Team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said: "Albie's recurring left ankle injury is still a concern for us. We do not want to risk him by playing and would rather take the necessary precautionary measures especially with the World T20 taking place next month.
"Dale is battling with a stiff neck and will need a few days to recover from the strain."
The Proteas would have taken over from their opponents at the top of the ICC one-day rankings had they won the match.
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