England are hoping for an opportunity to rediscover stalled momentum in the Royal London Series at The Oval.
Captain Eoin Morgan was still ruing rain in Bristol, and fearing more in London, as he assessed his team’s progress so far for their 1-0 lead with two matches to play against Sri Lanka.
They were prevented from cashing in on a fine bowling display on Sunday, when their run chase was stopped in its tracks by bad weather on 16 for one.
England captain Eoin Morgan is put through his paces during a training sessions at the Kia Oval on Tuesday
Head coach Trevor Bayliss (right) keeps an eye on his players as they prepare to face Sri Lanka
Jonny Bairstow is pictured in training ahead of the fourth one-day international of the five-match series
After a thrilling tie in the first match at Trent Bridge, then a record-breaking 10-wicket win at Edgbaston, England have therefore not yet sealed the series despite having an unassailable lead in the summer’s ‘Super Series’, which incorporates all three formats of the sport.
Morgan acknowledges the stop-start nature of the campaign, and is aware there may still not be much continuity on Wednesday if the weather forecasters are proved right.
‘It’s certainly going to be one of the challenges over the next couple of games we play,’ he said.
‘With a lot of weather around, that is always a huge challenge that it doesn’t become a distraction – and to switch on when we need to.’
England are out to consolidate the improvements made after their embarrassingly early 2015 World Cup exit.
England players Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler warm up for the session with a game of football
Bairstow and Bayliss talk tactics. England lead the one-day series 1-0 following Sunday’s abandonment
Morgan and Co tied the first game of the series before securing an emphatic victory in the second on Friday
‘We want to play as much cricket as we can, and I suppose [the weather] has halted a little bit of the momentum we’ve had,’ he said.
‘Tomorrow is about regaining that a little bit.’
Most of Morgan’s team, like the rest of the country, were watching on TV as their football counterparts made a hugely disappointing exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland.
As debate rages nationally about who should replace coach Roy Hodgson, who resigned on Monday night after England’s 2-1 defeat, the limited-overs cricketers are living proof that triumphs can follow apparent disaster.
‘The learning experience we’ve had over the last 12 months, with the new group of players, has been so significant that there is almost a completely different team,’ said Morgan.
‘I suppose for us, it was going with a new method and a new group of players.’
Steven Finn bowls in training. England have an unassailable lead in the ‘Super Series’ of Tests, ODIs and T20s
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