Rain worry for Sri Lanka-England quarterfinal

Rain and thunderstorms posed a threat to Saturday's World Cup quarterfinal between co-hosts Sri Lanka and England.

Overnight rain in parts of Colombo threatened the high-profile match, although there was no rain in and around the R. Premadasa stadium where the pitch remained covered ahead of the 0900GMT start.

However, Sri Lanka's meteorological department predicted heavy thundershowers in Colombo by the early evening.

As per the playing conditions of the tournament, there is one reserve day allocated to all quarter-finals, semifinals and the final.

The first semifinal will be played here on March 29, between New Zealand - who beat South Africa in Dhaka on Friday - and the winners of the Sri Lanka-England match.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan play the second semi-final in Mohali on March 30.

The final is scheduled for April 2 in Mumbai.

A group match between Sri Lanka and Australia was abandoned because of rain in Colombo earlier in the tournament.