ENGLAND'S left-armers hammered South Africa in the first match after Ben Stokes.

Reece Topley was the bowler for two wickets, while Sam Curran and David Willey each took one as the Proteas were beaten by 118 runs at Old Trafford.

It evened the 50-over series at 1-1, ahead of Sunday's decider at Headingley.

This performance will help England to believe that they can do without Stokes while they still grapple with Stokes' resignation from one-day internationals.

Amazingly, the Proteas lost their four first wickets when the total was just six. After that, they had no realistic chance of beating England's 201.

England's cricketers were also fired up when Heinrich Klaasen, South African batsman, tried to delay the rain by using delaying tactics.

Klaasen hoped that the rain would get heavier before England bowled the required minimum of 20 overs.

It would have been a no-win situation if play had been stopped before that time.

Jos Buttler, England's skipper, made his feelings clear, but spinners Moeen Al Ali and Adil Rashid, both in tandem, ensured that the overs were completed on time.

Klaasen said: "It were old-school tricks to slow down the game. It didn't go down well with the English boys.

"We weren’t in a good position so I tried to disrupt the rhythm or change momentum. It didn't work.

"The opposition's words didn't bother my at all. It's all fun on the field.

"Hopefully we can have a beer afterwards. As long as the conversation is only on the field, I don't mind.

Willey stated that it was "frustrating, to be polite." It was obvious what he wanted to do with the rain falling. He hoped that the rain would get more severe and we would be fine.

Topley is England's most prominent wicket-taking bowler in white ball cricket, and he scored twice in his second over.

Janneman Malan opened the scoring with a catch at mid-on. Rassie van den Dussan then made a catch down the legside, scoring a century in South Africa’s win at Chester-le-Street.

Willey was driven to cover by Quinton de Kock, and Aiden Markram was then brilliantly run out of the field by Buttler's backhanded swipe at the stumps.

Markram hadn't even seen a ball.

Curran was next to strike when he passed a ball through David Miller's defenses and onto the stumps.

England's closest match with Stokes is Curran, a left-handed batsman who can also swing fast and Curran.

The Surrey man also contributed with his bat.

In his 35th innings, he struck three straight sixes. One of them was a huge blow that ended in the Old Trafford press box three stories up.

After four hours of rain, the match was finally called off at 4.45pm. England still lost wickets frequently.

Their batting was not as good as it used to be in this series of white-ball matches. They were again in trouble at 101-6.

Liam Livingstone, who scored 38 points, was the top scorer. He exploded with three legside sixes after Anrich Nortje's first three balls.

He then edged a four, but he tried another big hit and was caught at midwicket by the Lancashire ace.