Briefly there was the possibility England’s cricketers may provide a semblance of normality given Sri Lanka has so far managed to avoid having many coronavirus cases. In such extraordinary times there just might have been the reassurance of waking up in the morning to news of an England batting collapse on foreign soil and everyone could conclude that all was well with the world. Life was going on as usual. But on Friday cricket bowed to the inevitable.
Covid-19 has caused an upheaval to the schedules in a manner way beyond anything the terrorists have ever managed. England, following the lead of their rugby team at the height of the troubles in Ireland (“We may not be very good but at least we turn up,” said the captain, John Pullin, at the post-match dinner in Dublin in 1972 after England had been soundly beaten), have often brazened it out when tours have been under threat. In India in 1984‑85 they stayed on despite the civil unrest following the assassination of Indira Gandhi; they travelled – well, most of them did – to India in 2001 and 2008 when there were security concerns, and also to Bangladesh in 2016.
Written by Vic Marks
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/15/england-cricket-tour-sri-lanka-ecb under the title “Busy cricketing calendar leaves ECB with limited space for rescheduling”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
