13 March 2020 03:59 pm
England’s tour of Sri Lanka has been officially called off due to the global spread of the coronavirus.
The decision was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board and their Sri Lankan counterparts on Friday morning while Joe Root’s players were out in the middle playing the second day of their final warm-up fixture in Colombo.
The two-match series, part of the World Test Championship, was due to start in Galle next Thursday. But with England supporters due to begin travelling out to the island in the coming days, and apparent unease among the squad about the situation, a postponement became inevitable.
An ECB spokesperson said: “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.