SL v ENG 2018: Eoin Morgan "frustrated" with bad weather in Sri Lanka

English skipper Morgan is not fearing for the series due to weather.

Eoin Morgan and Trevor Bayliss inspects the wet outfield in Dambulla | Getty Images

England captain Eoin Morgan has described the abandonment of the One-Day International series opener against Sri Lanka as "frustrating" as rain interrupted their winter tour plans after having already spoiled their warm-ups for the series here.

Last week, England were forced to lose one of their two warm-up matches because of the rain in Colombo, and now the first ODI of the five-match series finished off with no results due to bad light, called off the play with the tourists were at 92-2 off 15 overs in Dambulla on October 10.  

Even after the delay of five hours, the outfield was not considered for play despite the best efforts of the ground staff to cover the ground before the torrential rain arrived here.

However, Morgan said that it is frustrating but hoping that England will have a bit of luck along the way with the weather when they will play Sri Lanka in the second ODI on October 13 at the same venue.

Morgan told Sky Sports, “Conditions aren't great. The umpires played it really well and gave it plenty of time to get the covers on but when they were taking the water away and the covers off there were about three or four really muddy patches. In that situation as much as we do want to play and as much as the umpires do, player safety is paramount and they made the right decision.”

He further added, “It's extremely frustrating in the first game of the series, having played only one warm-up game, we wanted to explode and get the guys into the series.I'm not fearing for the series at all. We have two reserve days late in the series so we will get some form of the game in and then let's hope the weather gets better.”

The English skipper also recalled the 2014 series when they toured in the monsoons (November-December), though all the seven games were played and Sri Lanka sealed the series with 5-2.

Morgan signed off by saying, “I think it is going to be that type of series. There was no rain forecast today, which is devastating really. We were keen to get into the series and get going and play but hopefully, we'll have a bit of luck along the way with the weather. Hopefully, we'll get a full game on Saturday but if not come back on Sunday and play.”

(Input: Sky Sports)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 11 Oct, 2018

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