Rain which began falling shortly before lunch caused KwaZulu-Natal's Standard Bank Cup semifinal playoff against Eastern Province on Sunday to be abandoned as a washout.

At that stage the Jumbos had made 253 for two after 41.2 overs, but this powerful position was undermined by the weather and the two teams will return to Kingsmead on Monday to start a new match.

With more rain forecast, however, the future of this tie was shrouded in confusion. The regulations governing the competition do not cover the eventuality of a complete washout but it seems that if no play is possible on Monday then the game will be played on Tuesday.

And if a result is still not possible, then it appears as if Natal will qualify for Wednesday's final against the Northerns Titans by virtue of finishing the league section at the top of the table, and therefore higher than EP.

If EP lose Monday's replay they will have good reason to feel aggrieved. With Robin Peterson's 94 the highlight of the innings, the visiting side had punished the home attack throughout the morning until the rain began to fall.

Peterson, a makeshift opener, added 112 for the second wicket with James Bryant and after his departure Justin Kemp came in to put on 98 in an unbroken partnership for the third wicket with Bryant.

When the innings closed, Bryant was not out on 77 while Kemp's 57 had come off 47 balls including three fours and three sixes. But Peterson's innings was by some distance the highlight of the day's play, a glorious onslaught to which Natal had very little answer.

His runs came off only 73 balls and he hit five sixes and five fours along the way as the home side wilted. It was a particularly poor day for Natal captain Dale Benkenstein who, on winning the toss, first said he would bat before correcting himself and announcing that he wished to field.

The Natal fielding was sloppy and, for reasons known only to Benkenstein, Lance Klusener was given three overs of offspin which were promptly hammered for 28. Klusener also got himself into trouble with umpire Dave Orchard on more than one occasion for bowling off a two-step runup before the batsman was ready to receive the ball.

There is no doubt that the Jumbos have been hard done by by the weather, but for the moment they will simply have to hope that the rain will hold off for long enough on Monday or Tuesday for them to either win or lose the tie on the field rather than by an ad hoc interpretation of the playing conditions made by a UCB official.

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