Chris Woakes takes six wickets in Sri Lanka before rain delays England reply

• Sri Lanka 239 all out off 49 overs; rain stopped play

• ODI match to resume 9am GMT on Thursday

• Sri Lanka v England: fifth ODI – as it almost happened

It was too much to hope that this tour would proceed without the use of the reserve days. Just as the first innings of the fifth ODI of the series came to a conclusion, it started raining in Pallekele and it did not stop for the rest of the evening. Assuming fine weather England know what they have to do to stay in the series; they must score 240 in 50 overs.

It sounds simple enough. However batting will not be straightforward on a surprisingly dry pitch against a Sri Lankan side that is very keen to finish off the series, so that they can conduct their own World Cup experiments.

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source Sport | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1qw7n2x