Reserve days for Pakistan ODIs

Saturday, 16 June 2012 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has made a provision for reserve days for the two remaining ODIs against Pakistan in Colombo.

Pakistan made the request after the third ODI on Wednesday was washed out. The matches are scheduled for Saturday and Monday and rain is forecast for both days. The five-match series stands at 1-1.

“The next two ODIs will have reserve days,” Nishantha Ranatunga, the SLC secretary, told ESPNcricinfo. “There was a plan to shift the games to Hambantota, as it was the only area not experiencing rain at the moment, but due to logistical issues we had to drop it.”

Only 6.2 overs in total were possible on Wednesday, leading the umpires to call off the game at around 8.40pm. A sharp shower curtailed play by more than an hour after the first ball was bowled, but rain returned shortly after play resumed. No play was possible after the second interruption. The first ODI in Pallekele was also interrupted by rain, but the match was eventually reduced to 42 overs a side.

Rain was always going to be an issue as the series was scheduled during the south-west monsoon. Parts of the southern coastal belt, including Matara, experienced gale force winds yesterday. Only two ODI series have been played in Sri Lanka in the month of June: the Nidahas Trophy in 1998 which had half its matches wiped out by rain, and the Asia Cup in 2010 which was held in the dry zone of Dambulla. However, no matches will be played in Dambulla on this tour.