Rain has final say as Hales goes from hero to zero

BRISTOL: England were left 1-0 up with two to play after rain meant the third One-day International (ODI) in their five-match series against Sri Lanka ended in a no result at Bristol on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 249 for victory, England were 16 for one off four overs when rain stopped play.

A minimum of 20 overs needed to be bowled in the second innings for a result to be declared under the Duckworth/Lewis method for rain-affected matches. But the players were still off the field when the umpires abandoned the match at 5:30pm local time.

On Friday, Sri Lanka had 34.1 overs in the field without any success as England won the second ODI at Edgbaston by 10 wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.

The two teams’ match on Tuesday ended in a tie at Trent Bridge when Liam Plunkett hit a six off the last ball.

Alex Hales who scored 133 not out at Edgbaston, fell for nought off the first ball he faced,  caught behind chasing a wide delivery from Suranga Lakmal.