Not even a newly installed drainage system could salvage West Indies' plans of a quick rebound from their Test-series hammering, as heavy overnight and morning rain forced the abandonment of the opening one-day international against England yesterday.

The torrential rain left the outfield at Headingley saturated and despite brilliant sunshine for much of the afternoon, umpires Nigel Llong and Steve Davis ruled that the ground was unfit for play and abandoned the match just after a 3 p.m. inspection.

Despite the best efforts of groundstaff, water remained on certain sections of the field forcing umpires to take the obvious decision.

Disappointed

The abandonment will be a huge setback for West Indies who would have been hoping to redeem themselves with a strong performance in the three-match series.

Fast bowler Fidel Edwards said the West Indies were disappointed by the washout but remained confident about the remaining two matches of the series.

"We really wanted to play today as this is a new format and we see it as a new start," said Edwards, the Windies leading bowler in the preceding Test series.

"We were looking to win and go one up ... that would be a great benefit for us.

"We can't control the weather, so we will now be moving on to the second match and we will be looking to play good cricket. I'm confident and the team is confident."

Yorkshire County Club, which play their cricket at Headingley, installed a £600,000-ultra-modern drainage system at the ground late last year which was supposed to guard against downpours like that which occurred yesterday.

Provoked boos

Instead, the club's chief executive Stewart Regan was left trying to defend the apparent failure of the system following the abandonment that provoked boos from the impatient spectators.

West Indies would have been looking forward to action, following their heavy defeats in the two Tests over the last fortnight.

The tourists will now head to Bristol for the second ODI on Sunday before playing the final match at Edgbaston next Tuesday.