“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,” read a statement from the ECB.

“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.

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“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.”

The first Test between the two sides was set to begin on March 19 in Galle. On Thursday, the ECB had announced that the series was set to continue but that it was a “highly evolving situation”, with circumstances changing rapidly, “sometimes several times a day”.