England Test tour in Sri Lanka postponed

ENGLAND’S tour of Sri Lanka has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the England and Wales Cricket Board citing “completely unprecedented times”.

The decision was confirmed while Joe Root’s side were in the field at Colombo’s P Sara Oval, contesting a warm-up game for a two-Test series that was in the process of being written off by decision-makers back at Lord’s.

Discussions had been ongoing between the ECB and Sri Lanka

Cricket, leaning on guidance from the High Commissions of both countries as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The prospect of the two-match series going ahead as planned had looked highly improbable given the number of global sporting events being removed from the calendar.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board read: “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have today made the decision to return our players to the UK and postpone the forthcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and England.

“At this time, the physical and mental well-being of our players and support teams is paramount. We will now look to bring them home to their families as soon as possible. These are completely unprecedented times, and decisions like this go beyond cricket.

“We would like to thank our colleagues at Sri Lanka Cricket for their outstanding support and assistance throughout this situation.

“We look forward to returning to Sri Lanka in the very near future to fulfil this important Test series.” England have made it clear they intend to fulfil the two matches, which form an official part of the inaugural World Test Championship, with January 2021 the likeliest available window.

Ben Stokes had earlier been withdrawn from the match after experiencing abdominal pain at the team hotel, but the ECB was keen to stress that his discomfort had nothing to do with the coronavirus.

“To be clear, this is not a viral issue or linked to COVID-19,” said a statement.