Rain disrupts start to England's fifth one-day international against Australia Officials were anticipating a lengthy delay to the start of the fifth and final NatWest Series match between England and Australia at Old Trafford. Heavy morning rain left the outfield saturated, and the square under full cover, less than an hour before the scheduled 2pm start time. It was expected that it would take two hours to ready the pitch, even in the event of no further rain. But more bad weather was forecast in any case. England have already won the series, having established an unassailable 3-0 lead after Saturday's eight-wicket win at Chester-le-Street. A washout here would leave them fourth in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings. But should they get on the pitch, and beat their world number one opponents for a fourth time in succession, Alastair Cook's team would rise to third - marginally behind South Africa. Umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould assessed conditions, as the rain relented, and announced a further inspection would take place at 3pm. After the inspection, it was announced the umpires would need to wait another hour before taking another look. A still squelchy area just off the square, near the former Stretford end, was giving them particular cause for concern. After the 4pm inspection, it was announced a 32-overs-per-side match would begin at 5.30pm - as long as there was no further rain.