Alastair Cook suspended for an ODI due to slow over-rate

Alastair Cook will miss the fourth ODI vs Sri Lanka

England captain Alastair Cook has been banned for a solitary One-Day International against Sri Lanka due to slow over-rate. The left-hander was fined 20% of his match fee earlier this year in an ODI versus India at Cardiff and was warned that a repeat offence would lead to a suspension of one game.

England won their first game of the 7-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, beating the hosts by 5 wickets in a truncated game, reduced to a 35-overs per side affair. Chasing a target of 236 in 35 overs, under the Duckworth-Lewis method, England got off to a good start with the openers putting 84 runs on the board before Cook was out for 34.

Moeen Ali once showed that he is a good option at the top-of-the-order, scoring a blistering 58 off 40 balls, that included 5 sixes. But it was the partnership of 84 runs between Joe Root and Jos Buttler, who smashed an unbeaten 46-ball 55 that helped their side reach the target with 8 balls to spare.

The fourth game is scheduled to be played on Sunday at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo..