The annual MCC Champion County match, scheduled to be played against Essex this year from March 24 to 27 in Galle, has been called off because of the COVID-19 threat. Subsequently it is the same case with the MCC World Cricket Committee meeting that was scheduled to meet in Colombo on March 28 and 29.
“The health and safety of players, officials and supporters is our priority, and with the danger of infection beginning to increase in the UK, as well as the risk of quarantine for UK arrivals abroad and the potential of spreading the virus further, the decision has been taken for the match and the committee meeting to be cancelled,” an MCC statement said.
“The club would like to stress that the decision we have made has not been taken lightly, however with health and safety of paramount importance, it was agreed that it was a risk not worth taking.
“A visit to Sri Lanka remains very much in MCC's plans and we hope to organise a trip to the country in the near future.”
The MCC v champion county fixture that has been a staple of the English season since 1970, in recent years has moved to centres like Abu Dhabi, Barbados and Dubai.
Kumar Sangakkara, who became the club's first overseas president last October, was supposed to lead the MCC side, and the match would have started a day after England's first Test in Sri Lanka, also in Galle. That series, too, stands cancelled because of the same reason.
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