ENGLAND’S cricket tour of Sri Lanka has been scrapped due to coronavirus with players walking off once play got underway on Friday.
Chris Silverwood’s side were due to play two Tests in Asia, starting in Galle on March 19 and then Colombo on March 27.
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But with the pandemic spreading and causing havoc to the sporting calendar, the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to axe the visit mid-match on Friday.
England players were on the field and play was underway for the second day of their four-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Board President’s XI.
An ECB statement 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.
“At this time, the physical and mental wellbeing 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.”
Ben Stokes had already withdrawn from the squad because of an abdominal problem.
He is set to undergo tests to get to the bottom of the problem but the ECB confirmed the issue is not related to coronavirus.
The ECB added: “To be clear, this is not a viral issue or linked to COVID-19.”
Elsewhere, the start of the Indian Premier League has been delayed until April 15 due to the global pandemic.
Indian cricket chiefs took the decision to postpone the start of the tournament by two-and-a-half weeks.
Sporting events worldwide have been scrapped because of the pandemic and the Indian Premier League has also been forced to take action.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said last week that it was business as usual for the T20 cricket showpiece but latest developments have forced their hand.
The 2020 IPL was due to begin on Sunday 29 March with a clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
But the BCCI announced on Friday that it was suspending the tournament as a “precautionary measure”.
And Australia’s comfortable 71-run ODI win over New Zealand was played in front of an empty Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
