South Africa coach Mickey Arthur was prepared to give England captain Kevin Pietersen due credit for the home side's 4-0 drubbing of the Proteas in the one-day series.

Rain denied England the chance of a series whitewash, which would have seen them leapfrog South Africa into second place in the one-day rankings, as just three overs of play were possible at the SWALEC Stadium on Wednesday.

While Pietersen and Co are now intent on further progress in both forms of the game, South Africa's tour has finished on a downer.

Apart from the damp squib in Wales, memories of their famous Test series win have been jaded after the one-day leg went gone from bad to worse.

"He has got results and he seems to have the whole dressing room behind him," Arthur said of the South Africa-born batsman.

"He's brought in a bit of an aggressive style - which has been fantastic. You have to say he has made an impact."

Pietersen's England is a team Arthur admires - particularly the pace and potency of change bowlers Flintoff and Steve Harmison.

"With their key players back fit - Flintoff, that multi-skilled player back - they seem to have a 'brand' that is working for them," he said.

"The one thing we did really well when we were at our peak was the ability to take wickets after the powerplay. They certainly have that ability now, with Flintoff and Harmison.

"That is a huge bonus, because the game gets away from you in the middle overs if you don't have the ability to take wickets.

"They certainly have one of the best one-day bowling attacks around in the world."

Central to that, of course, is Flintoff - and it was an understated post-match delivery from him which provided the last word on a day when the weather gave this newest of venues and its groundstaff headaches aplenty, to little avail.

Cardiff will stage the first Ashes Test next summer and, to many minds, was on trial today to see how it will cope on the big stage.

Manchester, Lancastrian Flintoff's home ground, was one of those which lost out two years ago when the SWALEC was granted not just any Ashes Test but the all-important first of the series.

Asked for his impressions of Cardiff, Flintoff was pithy - and pointed.

"It was damp. It was better than last time I came. It's not Old Trafford - but it's all right," he said.

Pietersen admitted to mild frustration that weather prevented any chance of the full whitewash - before conceding even he cannot have the weather to order.

"You can't control the rain," he said. "I wanted to get the guys out to make sure we had an opportunity to win 5-0.

"There was a huge incentive for us to win this fixture. It didn't happen. But the guys can enjoy tonight - and to win 4-0 is something we'd have taken two weeks ago."