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Southampton - Almost every spectator that walked through the Rose Bowl gates to watch Monday's World Cup clash between the Proteas and West Indies came armed with an umbrella.
It was cold, gloomy and the floodlights were on just a few minutes after South Africa's innings started.
When rain forced the players off just 7.3 overs in, the Proteas were 29/2 with Quinton de Kock (17* off 21) and skipper Faf du Plessis (0* off 7) at the wicket.
Du Plessis lost his first toss of the tournament, and West Indies skipper Jason Holder chose to bowl.
It is a toss that could hurt the Proteas later in the day with their World Cup hanging in the balance.
Each side must bat for a minimum of 20 overs for there to be a result, and if the players do get back out onto the park the West Indies will have the advantage of knowing what the revised target is and being able to plan accordingly.
In team selection, Beuran Hendricks came in for Tabraiz Shamsi while JP Duminy was dropped to accommodate the return of Aiden Markram.
The conditions were perfect for fast bowling, and Hashim Amla's (6 off 7) woeful tournament continued when he was late on a shortish delivery from Sheldon Cottrell (2/18 in 4) to edge to slip and be gobbled up by Chris Gayle at slip.
Markram then arrived at the crease and played a couple of impressive drives before he became Cottrell's second victim.
It was short again from the left-arm quick, and Markram (5 off 10) looked to work the ball onto the leg side only to produce a soft glance through to Shai Hope behind the stumps.
@LloydBurnard is in England covering the 2019 Cricket World Cup for Sport24 ...
