United's ridiculous pre-season took another twist as the Vodafone Cup clash with Urawa Red Diamonds was called off 10 minutes before kick-off.
Electrical storms forced the abandonment of Boca Juniors' earlier match with
PSV Eindhoven and referee Andy D'Urso cancelled the game with more forecast.
D'Urso felt it was not safe for the game to go ahead, much to the dismay of a
large contingent of Japanese supporters inside the stadium.
With only Sunday's Community Shield encounter with Arsenal to come before
United head to Romania, Darren Fletcher has not made a single appearance,
Paul Scholes, has only played an hour against AC Milan as United prepare for
the new season.
'Those two lads in particular needed a game under their belt but you can't take
any chances with players' safety,' Ferguson told Sky Sports.
'In all my career, I can never remember a game being called off for thunder and lightning but while I feel particularly sorry for the Urawa players who have
travelled 14 hours to get here, I think the referee made the right decision.