London
England Test captain Joe Root has backed the decision to abandon the Test tour of Sri Lanka over the coronavirus pandemic, saying the players’ minds were “elsewhere”.
A practice match in Colombo was halted on Friday and the team announced they would be flying back to London.
The two-Test series, which was due to start in Galle on March 19, has been postponed.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said the physical and mental well-being of the players and support staff was paramount.
“There was an element of relief. The right decision has been made,” Root told the BBC.
“You could see looking at the players that their minds were elsewhere thinking about people back home. Now that we can go and look after families and be with loved ones, that’s put a lot of guys at ease.”
The skipper said there had been a lot of talk about the virus in the dressing room and it had started to overshadow the cricket.
“Looking at how quickly things have happened at home, you’re thinking about family and friends who might be a bit more vulnerable and that’s hard when you’re a long way away. “It was clear it was getting in the way of performance and affecting the mental well-being of the guys.”
New Zealand abandoned their one-day tour of Australia on Saturday after Wellington tightened border restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Sri Lanka has shut its borders to travellers from the United Kingdom, catching out cricket fans who were ready to holiday on the island even after the postponement of England’s tour.
Joe Root’s side arrived back home on Sunday morning after the two-match series fell victim to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, but many supporters opted to go ahead with the planned vacations.
Things changed on Sunday afternoon when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office distributed the following guidance: “The Sri Lankan Government has decided that people arriving from the UK, or having travelled through the UK, will not be allowed to enter Sri Lanka from midnight on 16 March (1830 GMT 15 March).
Some fans are already in Sri Lanka, several more were due to depart in the coming days and at least one, travelling with the official Barmy Army tour group, was initially turned away on arrival at Colombo’s Bandaranaike airport. After several hours of uncertainty he was admitted to the country, with a message that he would be the last to do so.
Chris Millard, managing director of the Barmy Army, told the PA news agency: “One of our members, who was held at Colombo airport for several hours, has now been allowed in and has informed the Barmy Army that there will be no more flights following from the UK.—AFP
