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Colombo, August 14: The Unitech Cup cricket tri-series failed to get off today as the opening match between Sri Lanka and South Africa was abandoned following torrential rains that threaten to severely disrupt proceedings this week.
Players of both the teams were confined to their rooms as persistent rains left puddles of water on the ground at the Premadasa stadium.
The umpires, Billy Bowden and Ashoka de Silva, and the match referee Chris Broad, had a first inspection at 12.30 p.m. (local time) when the weather gods had relented briefly.
They were scheduled to do a second inspection at 4 p.m. but another spell of showers literally poured cold water on their hopes.
The tournament provides for a reserve day and the match will be played tomorrow. But with more thundershowers forecast for the next 48 hours it looks less likely that a ball would be bowled.
The tournament organisers also had to grapple with concerns about the teams' safety in the wake of a bomb blast less than three km from their hotel of stay.
The rains, however, would provide enough respite for the South Africans who carry a couple of injury cases. Speedster Makhaya Ntini is yet to recover fully from a hamstring injury while Shaun Pollock has a lower-back problem. (Agencies)
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