Sri Lanka will fly out of Dublin on Friday with the first series of
their tour duly sewn-up. The RSA One-Day Challenge may not be the most
prestigious of the trophies they have collected this year but Marvan
Atapattu, the interim coach, will be glad to leave Ireland unscathed
after the second game in the series was abandoned without a ball being
bowled.
The skies that have brooded over the Irish capital for days drenched the
ground overnight, and a damp patch on the pitch delayed the start. More
rain fell throughout the morning and, although lunch was taken early,
the prospects remained bleak. A thoroughly wet square and outfield
forced the umpires to call things off at 2.15pm, the second time in
three games the sides have been forced off without bowling a delivery.
Sri Lanka resume action at Chelmsford on Tuesday, ahead of T20, ODI and
Test commitments against England, while Ireland's next game will come as
part of a 50-over series at the end of July against a Sri Lanka A team
that is sure to feature some of the younger members in action this week.
"It's disappointing that we didn't get any cricket in, but you're never in control of the weather," Ireland's captain, William Porterfield,
said. "The umpires made the call when it was wet around the square even
before the covers came off for the second time. It is just ironic that
the sun has come out just after the game gets called off."
With no more ODIs scheduled until three against Scotland in September,
when the county players will be unlikely to play, the summer season is
pretty much over for Ireland before it began. "This is the last time
we're together as a squad for a few months", Porterfield said, "so
obviously we've got to look after our own individual games and meet up
again in September, October. We're looking to get down to Australia and
New Zealand over the winter at some point to help our preparations for
the World Cup."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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