England's tour of Sri Lanka off
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 twomatch series going ahead as planned had looked highly improbable given the number of global sporting events being removed from the calendar, but when the news came it was rubberstamped with enough hurry that a handful of deliveries were bowled in the middle before word got through to the teams.
Root had been aware that developments were gathering pace for several hours and was waved from the field a couple of minutes before the final drinks break on day two.
He spoke to head coach Chris Silverwood and also conversed with Ashley Giles, managing director of the England men's team, via mobile phone. He then passed the news to his team-mates during the break in play and departed the field alongside the umpires and batsmen.
Ben Stokes had earlier been withdrawn from the match after experiencing abdominal pain at the team hotel, but the ECB was keen to stress that his discomfort had nothing to do with the coronavirus.