Lane left cursing Colombo rain

Mark Lane has been impressed with Laura Marsh, left, who returned fine figures of 2-16 in today's second one-dayer

Coach Mark Lane was left frustrated following the abandonment of the second and final ODI in Colombo - a result which handed England a 1-0 series win.

Having won by just five runs in the first one-day international, England looked set for an interesting run-chase in the rain-reduced second match when the heavens opened and forced the umpires to call the game off.

England were 30 for one at the time and needed five an over to overhaul Sri Lanka's 173 for eight.

"It was a little bit annoying," Lane told ecb.co.uk. "You want to see our players play in pressure situations like that, only for it to rain.

"Chasing 170-odd would have been the sort of challenge we want to see the players doing. It would have been a great chance to see what the likes of Fran Wilson and Laura Marsh can do with the bat.

"With the batting we have got we would have fancied our chances chasing that down.

"Sri Lanka have made a massive improvement though. They are playing with no fear and give everything when they are batting and bowling.

"I would not say I'm surprised. They work hard at their game and are being given more opportunities to play. It's great for the women's game that Sri Lanka and West Indies are getting better."

England might have been chasing more had it not been for a fine spell of bowling by Marsh, who took 2-16 from eight overs to put the skids under Sri Lanka after they had rattled along to 40 without loss.

Danielle Hazell continued to shine with two wickets to further undermine the hosts before Charlotte Edwards, on a record breaking 142nd ODI appearance, finished with a career-best 4-30.

Lane said Claire Taylor "still has that killer instinct" after she hit 73 in the first ODI, which England narrowly won

"Laura bowled fantastically well," said Lane.

"Charlotte had a good day with the ball. She has been a brilliant ambassador for women's cricket. She has been an outstanding player for England and I'm sure she will continue to put in performances for England."

However, Lane said there is still room for improvement ahead of the three-match Twenty20 series, which starts on Friday.

"We were a little bit inconsistent with the ball," he added. "We gave away too many extras which is something we will have to work on before the Twenty20s. You can do all the indoor work you want but it's what happens on the park that counts.

"We are taking the Twenty20s seriously. We have five Twenty20s in Australia and we want to make an impact there, so it's important the work starts now.

"We will make one change to begin with and that's Claire Taylor keeping wicket. It means we can play another batsman or bowler. Susie Rowe has impressed me so she could get a game, as might Beth MacGregor."

Despite the inclement weather, Lane says there are plenty of positives to take out of the trip to the sub-continent.

"It's been good to get more games under our belts and to experience the conditions ahead of the 2012 Twenty20 World Cup, which will be here," added Lane.

"Laura Marsh is back to her best, Dani Hazell has impressed with the ball, Claire Taylor showed she still has that killer instinct in that brilliant innings on Monday, Fran Wilson does not look out of her depth while Lauren Griffiths has done quite well too.

"The girls are in fantastic spirits and it's a pleasure for me to be associated with them. There is a real energy about this group despite it missing a few senior players. We will have to be adaptable and flexible if the weather continues though."