Rain thwarted Australia's bid to win a first Twenty20 international in six matches after their series opener against England ended in a no-result washout at Old Trafford yesterday.

Australia were well on top, having reduced England to four for two in the second over, in pursuit of a victory target of 146, when a heavy downpour stopped play.

Collingwood insisted rain had thwarted England every much as bit as Australia.

"It would have been a good game if it had gone all the way," he said. "We did some good stuff in the field to restrict them to that total which we felt was very gettable on that wicket."

Although England needed only to bat for five overs for a result to be declared under the Duckworth-Lewis method for weather-affected fixtures, a fresh burst of rain prevented play resuming by the scheduled cut-off time of 1710GMT.

The second and final match of this series is at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Australia, who had lost their previous five Twenty20 matches, were indebted to Cameron White's 55 for a total of 145 for four after losing the toss in overcast conditions.