Wednesday 17 October 2018 20:18, UK
The ECB has defended touring Sri Lanka in the monsoon season, insisting the crowded international schedule left no "wriggle room".
England's first three ODIs in Sri Lanka have been impacted by rain, with the first, in Dambulla, abandoned due to heavy rain.
An ECB statement released during the weather-affected third fixture in Kandy, read: "In respect of touring Sri Lanka at this time of year: The Future Tours Programme is congested involving 13 Boards whose schedules all interconnect, so there are unfortunately a number of tours that have to take place outside prime match-staging periods.
"After hosting England, Sri Lanka spend the rest of the 18-19 season touring New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
"They play their first match in New Zealand on Dec 8, which left very little wriggle room given our final Test in Sri Lanka finishes on Nov 29."
Sky Sports Cricket's Michael Atherton said: "The bottom line is we are trying to fit too much cricket into too little time - that's a longstanding problem in the game, not just in this series."
England's warm-up fixtures in Sri Lanka were also hit by the weather, with their second practice match against a Sri Lankan Board XI in Colombo wiped out without a ball being bowled.
Eoin Morgan's men will play further ODIs against Sri Lanka on Saturday and Tuesday, in Kandy and Colombo respectively, before a T20 international is contested in Colombo on Saturday, October 27.
England will then play Sri Lanka in three Test matches, in Galle (November 6), Kandy (November 14) and Colombo (November 23).
