The Champion county fixture between the defending champions of England’s premier first-class tournament, Essex and the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) which was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 4-day game was all set to be worked off from the 24th March featuring former Sri Lanka Test Captain and current President of the MCC, Kumar Sangakkara. The Essex team was also set to feature a strong team with several English national and domestic stars.
A statement released by the ECB hinted several changes to the scheduled English domestic season considering the prevailing emergency, “will continue to plan for the expectation that the season proceeds as normal, but in parallel prepare for a range of scenarios – These could include the possibility of playing matches behind closed doors, or potentially postponing or cancelling elements of the season.”