Trumpets did not sound at Edgbaston and there were no fireworks or laser shows to herald the start of the world's second biggest ODI cricket competition.

Instead of the Olympics-style razzmatazz, grey skies and autumnal drizzle came to wipe out the morning's play then, before the game began at 1400, the teams received a perfunctory introduction to ICC president Ehsan Mani, which was greeted by ironic jeers from the crowd.

When the tournament finally stuttered into life it did so in the most farcical fashion as 18-year-old Tinashe Panyangara bowled seven wides in the opening over, looking like a nervous schoolboy thrust into the limelight in international cricket.

The prospect of an England massacre immediately looked on the cards but Zimbabwe were competitive enough to restrict England to 198-5 from 38 overs, with Vikram Solanki outstanding for his 62.

Zimbabwe's callow attack certainly offered plenty of balls to hit and there were times when the score looked like getting out of hand but Zimbabwe pegged England back with brilliant catching.

They seized four difficult chances, two of them brilliant efforts to dismiss Andrew Strauss (25) and Andrew Flintoff (six), and forced England into a more conservative approach than they would have liked.

However, with 12 overs left when play resumes at 1015 on the reserve day, a target approaching 300 is still on the cards, with Paul Collingwood (35*) and Geraint Jones (23*) still at the crease.

Marcus Trescothick's cameo of 10 contained two flat-batted cover drives for four before he fell in characteristic fashion, poking leaden-footedly at a wide ball from Douglas Hondo.

Michael Vaughan (17) did not last long either, pulling two glorious sixes into the crowd off Hondo, before Edward Rainsford's legcutter caught him pressing tentatively forward, wary of the 'corridor of uncertainty' which so often seems to prove his undoing.

England had batted so aggressively that the fifty had come up in 49 balls but, at 54-2 they were in need of a partnership.

With Solanki playing with glorious fluency, driving the ball beautifully through cover and midwicket and cutting with wristy flamboyance, what was needed was somebody to stay with him.

The reliable Andrew Strauss (25) managed that role in a stand of 60, nudging the ball into gaps and occasionally punching fours, his efficiency a contrast to the poetry of Solanki's strokeplay.

He was out in the 16th over, aiming the finest of cuts towards the vacant first slip area, but underestimating the springiness in the tiny legs of wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu, who took off sideways to pluck the ball from the air.

At 114-3, England had been scoring at more than six an over, which made the prevention of wickets far more a priority than fast runs.

In such circumstances the careless, even arrogant, slogging of Andrew Flintoff was a poor, if increasingly rare, misjudgment of the state of the game.

He got off the mark with a muscular heave that flew narrowly over the head of cover for four, then skied an attempt at blasting the ball straight into the next county which was brilliantly caught by Hondo running backwards from mid off.

This was the Flintoff of old, abandoning his fine technique in the belief that he is a man playing with boys and sheer power will prove irresistible. It rarely has been, and the best that can be said in his favour is that great players save their best for the toughest situations against the best teams.

After his dismissal in the 20th over, England were 123-4 and Paul Collingwood realised the importance of stemming the loss of wickets, batting sensibly in partnership with Solanki.

They had put on 36 when, in the 30th over, Solanki was trapped lbw for 62, another fine innings combining flair with a more compact technique than when he first played for England.

Collingwood and Jones put on a further 39 runs with few alarms before the inevitable rain came to end play for the day.

Zimbabwe: T Taibu (capt), S Matsikenyeri, BRM Taylor, V Sibanda, MA Vermuelen, DD Ebrahim, E Chigumbura, DT Hondo, T Panyangara, P Utseya, EC Rainsford.

England: MP Vaughan (capt), ME Trescothick, VS Solanki, AJ Strauss, PD Collingwood, A Flintoff, GO Jones, AF Giles, AG Wharf, D Gough, SJ Harmison.

10 Sep, 2004