Sri Lanka vs England: ECB responds to the criticism about the timing of the tour

All the matches on England's tour of Sri Lanka have been hampered by rain and thus the ECB was criticized for the scheduling.

Published - 17 Oct 2018, 16:52 IST | Updated - 17 Oct 2018, 16:52 IST

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Ever since the England cricket team landed in the island nation of Sri Lanka, they have continuously met with rain on and off the field. Not a single match thus far, including the practice games, was played without a rain interruption. Also, many of the practice sessions had to be cancelled and the players had to stay indoors for a majority of the time since it was pouring down outside.

Now, with the 3rd ODI between the sides again delayed due to rain, many have criticised the visiting board for choosing the wrong time for the tour. However, the England Cricket Board (ECB) is in no mood to entertain all of this. It released an official statement regarding the same on the Twitter handle.

England Cricket Board blames the FTP for the wrong timing

ECB has explained their side of the deal and said that the Future Tour Programme (FTP) is interconnected with as many as 13 cricket boards. Hence, they said that there will have to be a number of matches that will take place outside the prime-match staging periods.

“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,” read the first tweet.

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.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 17, 2018

A second tweet followed this one where they explained the Sri Lanka’s tours ahead after this one. They will be touring New Zealand, Australia and South Africa next. The final Test against England finishes on 29 November and they will be immediately in action again on 8 December where they play New Zealand.

“After hosting England, Sri Lanka spend the rest of the 18-19 season touring New Zealand, Australia & 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 is finishes on Nov 29,” the second tweet read.

After hosting England, Sri Lanka spend the rest of the 18-19 season touring New Zealand, Australia & 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 is finishes on Nov 29.
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 17, 2018