ECB defends decision to tour Sri Lanka in monsoon season
KANDY, SRI LANKA - OCTOBER 17: The covers as rain delays the start of play during the 3rd One Day International match between Sri Lanka and England at Pallekele Cricket Stadium on October 17, 2018 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
The England and Wales Cricket Board has defended the decision for England to tour Sri Lanka during monsoon season after the third one-day international was reduced due to rain.
The ODI, in Kandy, was delayed for nearly six hours before play could get underway and this follows on from rain troubles in the opening two fixtures with the first ODI abandoned and the second seeing rain end the game early.
All five of England’s games on tour, including their two warm-up fixtures, has been affected by rain to some degree and this has led to criticism of scheduling a tour during a notoriously bad time for weather in the country.
According to the Department of Meteorology in Sri Lanka, one of the country’s four monsoon seasons takes place between October and November.
The ECB, though, defending the decision in a statement that said: “After hosting England, Sri Lanka spend the rest of the 2018-19 season touring New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
“They play their first match in New Zealand on 8 December, which left very little wriggle room given our final Test in Sri Lanka finishes on 29 November.”