COLOMBO — Sri Lanka Cricket on Saturday said it had lost $125,000 after bad weather forced a one-day series against the visiting West Indies to be rescheduled.

The series was due to be played in December but has been postponed to this month and early February, and reduced from five matches to three.

Sri Lanka Cricket Chief Executive Ajith Jayasekera said the board lost television fees of $25,000 for each of the original meetings.

Sri Lanka Cricket will see the dawn of a new era when the first ever one day international between the touring West Indies and Sri Lanka begins at the historic Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Hambanthota on Thursday.

This day night encounter will see the beginning of a new chapter in Sri Lankan cricket with this venue set to host two ICC 2011 World Cup matches as well. Not only that the stadium is also earmarked as a venue to host some of the games in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in 2012.

Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga combined in a record 132-run ninth-wicket partnership to guide Sri Lanka to an extraordinary one-wicket win in their opening one-day international against Australia in Melbourne.

Sri Lanka were reeling at 107 for eight chasing 240 to win when Mathews and Malinga combined in the 26th over. Together they put on the highest ninth-wicket partnership ever in an ODI before Malinga was run out for 56 with the total at 239-9.

No11 Muttiah Muralitharan calmly hit the winning runs with 34 balls to spare – a glanced boundary off Shane Watson in the next over leaving Mathews unbeaten on 77.