England's seam attack prevented South Africa from posting a major total in their fourth match of the NatWest Series.

Having already lost the series by suffering defeats in the opening three matches, the tourists were put into bat in a match reduced to 39 overs initially by rain and then 33 overs by a further delay.

But their hopes of posting a total in excess of 200, which was a realistic target after openers Herschelle Gibbs and Hashim Amla forged a 66-run stand in 10 overs, were dashed when England's seamers restricted them to 183 for six after 32.1 overs when rain again halted play.

South Africa's progress was halted with Owais Shah running out Amla, who had raced to 34 off 31 balls, following a mix-up over a single with Gibbs in the 10th over and South Africa struggled to maintain the same momentum after that.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff was again the pick of England's attack and finished with three for 21 from his seven overs, including the controversial dismissal of acting captain Jacques Kallis when he was adjudged to have been caught behind.

Umpire Simon Taufel referred to third umpire Ian Gould, who confirmed the catch had carried to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, and Kallis stomped off although television replays confirmed he had got a thin edge.

Flintoff followed up with the wickets of JP Duminy and Vernon Philander, who replaced Albie Morkel in South Africa's line-up, as the tourists chased runs in the closing overs.

But the key wicket was the dismissal of Gibbs, who had been the mainstay of the innings after hitting 74 off 75 balls, but fell four overs before the end of the innings when he got an inside edge onto his stumps attempting to clip Stuart Broad to fine leg.

The rain relented and stayed away long enough to allow just enough time to plan for a restart just before 5.40pm.

The re-calculation was that England needed 137 to win in the minimum 20 overs which constitutes a completed match.

But any further interruption would force a no-result and scupper England's hopes of a series whitewash.