SO, WHY ARE WE PLAYING IN THE MONSOON SEASON? PURE GREED
There is one simple reason why england are touring Sri Lanka in their monsoon season and have seen all three one- day internationals so far affected by heavy rain. Greed.
It is the greed of administrators — the International Cricket Council, the eCB and the Sri Lankan board — that sees them cramming more and more fixtures into an already overcrowded schedule.
And that greed has led to a staggering arrogance and disregard for supporters who have paid good money to watch england on this beautiful island and players who will increasingly be hurried towards burn-out.
If there is ever a blank week in cricket’s international calendar then you can be sure that one desperate board or other will quickly schedule a one- day or Twenty20 series to fill the gap and make even more money.
The concept of less is more and protecting the quality of the product is anathema to cricket administrators worldwide.
The result is that Sri Lanka, who are committed to tour New Zealand in December, are entertaining england at the worst possible time because there is just no other month when they can be fitted into the Future Tours Programme.
It is a situation compounded by england’s status as the only team who now play all year round in a desperate attempt to keep everyone happy and the cash tills rolling.
Sri Lanka saw what was coming when they changed their original plan to begin the tour with three Tests and flipped it to start with the white-ball fixtures, causing chaos to eoin Morgan and Liam Plunkett’s wedding plans in the process.
The theory was that they might be able to get away with the odd one-day game when the rain can be so regular and persistent that it is just about the only time when Sri Lankan tour operators discourage holidays. No chance.
And they compounded their folly by scheduling reserve days for just two of the five matches — the second and fifth — while making three of them day-night affairs even though the rain tends to come in late afternoon.
It can, of course, be a lottery and Sri Lanka will remind us that england toured in October 11 years ago and there was not a single drop of rain throughout the trip. This time their luck has simply run out.
The situation can only get worse. every year seems to be ‘england’s busiest yet’ — don’t even look at 2019 and the early part of 2020 — and the emergence of more and more franchise tournaments can only add to the problem.
Players, of course, can be their own worst enemies. Why Joe root is playing in Australia’s Big Bash in December when it is his only chance of rest before next year’s World Cup and the Ashes is anyone’s guess.
Yet the biggest names do not want to miss out on Twenty20 riches while still feeling obliged to play for england in all formats and ensure that spectators who pay so much to watch the national team do not feel short-changed.
Frankly it is a mess and cricket only has itself to blame.
In the short term all that those shameless administrators can do is count their money while keeping their fingers firmly crossed that the sun shines on the rest of england’s tour. Don’t bet on it.