Rain thwarts series opener

Ireland v Sri Lanka - match abandoned without a ball bowled
Scorecard

The Scottish monsoon season put paid to Sri Lanka's ODI against Ireland on Monday. With the sun beating down mid-afternoon, the small crowd were hopeful of seeing some play, but the damage had already been done.

"There was a huge amount of rain here from the middle of last week," Ireland captain William Porterfield said. "When it rained again this morning I think that finished it off. The sun eventually came out but it was far too late for any chance of play."

It was hugely disappointing for the Irish team, who were keen to mix it with one of the leading sides in the world. "It would have been great to play them here, as conditions are very similar to Ireland," Porterfield said. "It's almost home advantage against an Asian team"

With the weather taking a turn for the better, Porterfield was confident that the rest of the tri-series tournament would be completed.

"We're playing Scotland tomorrow and that's always a big match for the guys. They've been playing well in the CB40 and had two good wins over Holland last week. They've a young side and they're going in the right direction."

Ireland will have to play without Niall O'Brien, who returned to his county last night, Porterfield explained. "Gary Wilson has kept in the recent games and is a good keeper. Andrew Poynter will come in and he deserves his chance. He's got good scores for us in vital games before and he works very hard at his game."

Ireland play Scotland on Tuesday, while the hosts face Sri Lanka on Wednesday.