http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 One Day series swept away by rains
Sri Lanka and West Indies preparation for the World Cup did not go as planned as the boards of Sri Lanka and West Indies decided to postpone the series to January. The five One Day International (ODI) matches were scheduled to start from tomorrow, 9th
December till the 19th December.
However, rainy clouds are predicted for a week all over Sri Lanka. The teams were prevented to practice outside as heavy rains lashed out the grounds in Hambantota where the first ODI was to take place.
Hambantota is one of the venues where a newly built stadium was prepared for the ICC World Cup 2011, which is beginning from February. The teams had arrived in the south of Sri Lanka’s coastal area three days ago. But persistent rain had bothered the players
throughout the tour.
The Test series between the two countries was also hampered by the heavenly gates of rain as the two sides settled for a draw in three Test matches. The dark clouds washed away the series costing Sri Lanka the most as a stalemate result saw their International
Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings slip from number three to number five.
Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara summed up the Test series as one of the worst cricket series ever of his life. Sangrakka declared, “I’ve never seen anything like this before” insisting the cricket officials to analyze the weather patterns.
Due to heavy rains, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) decided to shift the five match ODI series in early January which would be cut down to three ODI matches series.
Even though the Board has not issued a media release or an official statement, an informal Facebook message on SLC’s official page confirmed the postponement of the limited-overs series.
However, it was not clarified whether the Twenty20 series which is scheduled to start from 21st December, would take place or not.
Although there was no official announcement, West Indies former skipper and current opener Chris Gayle messaged on his Twitter account revealing the fate of the tour. He tweeted, “Tour officially call off!! So Jam town me say!!!”
The media centre still awaits an official statement from the Board as chaos surrounded the venue with less than 24 hours to go. The VIP section at the venue was still under construction with a dampened pitch.
The postponement of the series means that SLC will be facing huge financial losses as the Board has been facing a lot of criticism regarding the arrangements in light of the unfavorable weather conditions.
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