Heavy rain in Manchester has caused England's Twenty20 clash with South Africa in Manchester to be abandoned.

Play got underway following a two-and-a-half hour rain delay and South Africa managed to eke out a competitive total of 5-77 from the nine overs they were allotted.

It appeared there was going to be a result when England commenced their reply and made it through to 2-29 from 4.1 overs, but another heavy downpour forced the players from the field.

The rain was so heavy that the umpires had no option but to abandon the encounter almost immediately, with the match falling five balls short of the limit for a game to count and a result to be determined.

South Africa made a poor start to their innings with opener Richard Levi caught behind off Steven Finn with the very first ball of the day.

Finn claimed the important wicket of AB de Villiers shortly after, but an unbeaten 47 from the in-form Hashim Amla ensured the tourists reached a competitive score that would require England to score at more than eight runs an over to take the victory.

Dale Steyn removed Craig Kieswetter in the second over of England's reply, before Alex Hales (11 not out) and Luke Wright combined to put the hosts on target for victory.

Albie Morkel dismissed Wright with the first ball of the fifth over and the skies opened shortly after as the players scurried off the ground quickly and the clash was abandoned.

South Africa maintains their 1-0 lead in the three-game Twenty20 series, with the final match to be played in Birmingham on Wednesday.