ENGLAND were denied a 6-0 tour whitewash over Sri Lanka by an almighty downpour in Bristol today, but not before Tom Curran took the chance to find some form against obliging opponents.

Having already won all three Twenty20s, Eoin Morgan’s men were on course to replicate the scoreline in a one-day series that was rarely competitive.

They did everything they could, skittling Sri Lanka for 166 as Curran claimed four for 35, but the intervention of heavy and relentless rain meant a straightforward chase was never able to get under way.

It was an important return to form for the Surrey man, who had gone wicketless in his last five matches across both white-ball formats, inviting questions over his place in a full-strength squad. By way of riposte, the second best figures of his England career were a decent start.

Despite the relative anti-climax, captain Eoin Morgan found plenty to be happy about both on the day as well as in the series generally.

“Our bowling unit today, even only getting half a game in, were quite dominant,” he said. “We’re delighted, even though we went 2-0 up in the series, that they continued to be ruthless and disciplined in the nature [they] showed.”