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Schedule for England tour of Sri Lanka confirmed

England tour of Sri Lanka
by Wisden Staff 2 minute read

England’s schedule for their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in March 2020 has been confirmed. Both Tests will be contested as part of the ICC World Test Championship.

With 120 Championship points at stake in each WTC series, the two Tests will be contested for 60 points each. The Galle International Stadium will host the first Test, to be played between March 19 and 23, while Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium will host the second game, between March 27 and 31.

Leading up to the series, England will play a brace of warm-up games against an SLC Board President’s XI. The first of the two games will be a three-day affair, to be held in Katunayake, while the second will be a four-day first-class fixture, against the same opponent, at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.

England last toured Sri Lanka in 2018 and registered ta 3-0 whitewash in the Test series

Joe Root’s team last played Test cricket in the five-match Ashes series against Australia, which they drew 2-2 at home. They are currently the third-ranked side in the ICC Test Rankings and fifth in the World Test Championship standings, with 56 points from five games.

The last time England toured Sri Lanka was in November 2018, when they swept the hosts 3-0 in the Test series. It was England’s first-ever series whitewash in the island nation. Ben Foakes was the Player of the Series then, having accumulated 277 runs at 69.25.

Overall, England have won 20 out of the 50 games they’ve played in Sri Lanka across formats, with a win/loss ratio of 0.8. That number improves in red-ball cricket: they’ve won seven out of 16 Tests in Sri Lanka, with a W/L ratio of 1.4.

England tour of Sri Lanka 2020, schedule:

Fixture Opposition Venue Date
Three-day warm-up SLC Board President’s XI Katunayake MCG March 7-9
Four-day warm-up SLC Board President’s XI P Sara Oval March 12-15
1st Test Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium March 19-23
2nd Test Sri Lanka R Premadasa Stadium March 27-31

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