In light of the continued global spread of COVID-19, concerns expressed by Members and mindful of the importance of taking mitigating measures against the virus, the ICC Board, has decided to hold its meetings scheduled for Dubai at the end March via conference call only.

The Board and a number of committees will convene remotely to consider matters for urgent decision only, with the full meetings rescheduled for early May. This will be kept under constant review in line with advice from relevant authorities as the health and well-being of staff and those attending the meetings remains our priority. - ICC

Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, extended its sponsorship for the 70th ‘Battle of the Golds’, encounter between arch rivals, St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa, and Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, to be played at the De Zoysa Stadium, Moratuwa today and tomorrow. The much sought after 50 overs game, competed for the 35th occasion this year, will be played at the same venue the following day. The Cambrians will be led by allrounder Naduka Fernando and Sebastianites by all-rounder Janishka Perera.

Pictured (from left): Vajira Abeywickrama – POG, Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Kusala Fernando – Principal, Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Lasantha Theverapperuma - Group Chief Digital Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC , Rev. Fr Anton Ranjith – Rector, St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa and Rev. Fr Indunil Sampath – POG, St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa.

MELBOURNE, Monday - Australia’s cricketers will continue to shake hands, coach Justin Langer said Monday, despite England enforcing a strict fist-bump only policy to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 has claimed the lives of three Australians, with the global outbreak forcing a host of sporting fixtures around the world to be cancelled or played behind closed doors.

Australia’s three-game one-day series against New Zealand begins Friday and Langer said there were no plans to change how the team interacts in the dressing room or on the field.

“No, we’ll keep shaking hands... there’s plenty of hand sanitiser in the Australian kits,” he told cricket.com.au Monday following the team’s 3-0 series loss in South Africa.

“I’m sure we’ll just keep shaking hands and move on from that,” he added.

England captain Joe Root last week said his players would be talking sensible precautions on their tour of Sri Lanka.

“We are not shaking hands with each other, using instead the well-established fist bump, and we are washing hands regularly and wiping down surfaces using the anti-bacterial wipes and gels we’ve been given in our immunity packs,” he said.

Langer admitted that some players were exhausted heading into the series against New Zealand having featured in all three formats almost continuously since last year’s World Cup, including the likes of leading batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner.

“The truth is we’ve got some weary boys at the moment, particularly our senior players,” he said.

“They play so much cricket and you think about what they’ve done... since we started the World Cup (in England last year).

“They’re mentally tough guys but it’s a real challenge for us.”

The first one-dayer begins in Sydney on Friday with the second two days later, before the series wraps up in Hobart on March 20. - AFP

Opener Zak Crawley made his way to his fourth first-class hundred and skipper Joe Root and Ollie Pope further consolidated the position by edging closer to their respective centuries as England warmed up for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in impressive fashion ending the first day of their 4-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI on 354 for three wickets at the P Sara Oval yesterday.

It was a hard toil for the local bowlers on a hot and humid day as England batsmen found form on a pitch generally regarded as the bounciest in the country which had a covering of grass and slight moisture in the first session of play.

Crawley and his opening partner Dom Sibley negotiated the movement of the surface early on to put together a partnership of 103 that laid the foundation for England’s big total later during the day as the surface flattened out making life difficult for the bowlers.

Crawley struck 11 fours in his knock of 105 off 145 balls scoring all round the wicket. He stitched together a stand of 72 with Joe Denley after off-spinner Ramesh Mendis had initiated the breakthrough for his side by having Sibley taken at leg slip for 37.

Crawley was eventually bowled by Mohamed Shiraz which happened to be the last wicket to fall for the day as Root and Pope took charge of the batting from thereon to raise an unfinished stand of 175 by the close.

With the pitch gradually easing out the pair were hardly troubled by the President’s XI bowlers who toiled hard for success.

Root showing aggression against the spinners swept and reverse swept them as he raced to 90 not out off 122 balls inclusive of eight fours and Pope taking the cue from his skipper struck seven fours in his 120 ball knock for 84 not out.

The match continues today on its second day.

Kane Richardson tested negative for COVID-19 after he was ruled out of the first ODI against New Zealand at the SCG having reported reporting a mild sore throat to Australia's medical team yesterday.

Richardson, who returned from South Africa earlier this week with the rest of the ODI squad, was isolated from the rest of the squad while the tests results were awaited which came through on Friday evening.

Sean Abbott was briefly called into the squad as cover.

"Our medical staff are treating this a typical throat infection but we are following Australian Government protocols that require us to keep Kane away from other members of the squad and perform the appropriate tests given he has returned from international travel in the last 14 days," a Cricket Australia spokesperson said earlier in the day.

"Once we receive the results of the tests and Kane recovers in the next few days we expect he will re-join the team. We will not be making further comment until something changes."

It was announced earlier on Friday that the one-day series would be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.


(Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

IPL 2020 has been postponed until April 15 following the global concern over the COVID19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak. The decision to postpone the tournament, which was scheduled to start on March 29, was taken by the BCCI top brass lead by its president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah and top management of the IPL in the wake of the advice given by various arms of the Indian government.

The IPL sent the communication to all eight franchises on Friday, saying it would meet the owners on Saturday in person in Mumbai to further debrief on the matter.

The BCCI confirmed the development through a media release Friday afternoon stating it was "suspending" the IPL until April 15 as a "precautionary measure" against the coronavirus. "The BCCI is concerned and sensitive about all its stakeholders, and public health in general, and it is taking all necessary steps to ensure that, all people related to IPL including fans have a safe cricketing experience," the release said. "The BCCI will work closely with the Government of India along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and all other relevant Central and State Government departments in this regard."


(Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

England's Test tour against Sri Lanka has been called off due to the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The news came while England were midway through their final four-day warm-up match, ahead of the two-Test series which had been scheduled to get underway in Galle on March 19. Play continued for a few minutes after the announcement, before the players left the field at 3.40pm local time, midway through the Sri Lanka Board XI's first innings.

"After overnight discussions between our teams in Sri Lanka and the SLC, the decision has been made to postpone the series and bring players and support staff home. Our aim will be to reschedule the series," said an ECB spokesman.

The ECB had been in regular contact with the Sri Lankan and British High Commissions, in addition to Sri Lanka Cricket to address a "highly evolving" situation. However, with the UK and Sri Lanka governments intensifying their respective measures to contain the virus, and apparent unease growing in the England squad, the decision was, said the ECB, "beyond cricket".

The spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka is currently less intense than in the UK, with two confirmed patients as of Wednesday. However, amid the tightening or closing of borders, and the cancellation of international travel, it is understood that England's desire to get home was a key factor in the decision.

''Due to the COVID-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have today made the decision to return our players to the UK and postpone the forthcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and England," the ECB said.



(Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

Left-arm leg-spinner Sineth Dissanayake took a match bag of 11 wickets for 31 to steer St. Thomas’ College Matara to a 170-run win over St. Mary’s College Kegalle in their ‘Singer Trophy’ Under 19 inter-schools cricket match played at Matara on Thursday.

St. Thomas’ Matara: 143 and 134/4 decl. (67/3 o/n) (35.3) (Hirusha Jeewadith 50 n.o., Woshitha Amarasinghe 26, Sineth Ishan 3/51)

St. Mary’s Kegalle: 46 and 61 (23.4) (Sineth Dissanayake 8/19, Sachira Rashmika 2/0)

- YK

In light of the continued global spread of COVID-19, concerns expressed by Members and mindful of the importance of taking mitigating measures against the virus, the ICC Board, has decided to hold its meetings scheduled for Dubai at the end March via conference call only.

The Board and a number of committees will convene remotely to consider matters for urgent decision only, with the full meetings rescheduled for early May. This will be kept under constant review in line with advice from relevant authorities as the health and well-being of staff and those attending the meetings remains our priority. - ICC

Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement yesterday that the two-match Test series between Sri Lanka and England was postponed at the request of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The ECB made this request in view of the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally.

Accordingly, England cricketers will return home immediately, whilst SLC and ECB will reschedule the series, when a suitable window can be found by both sides.

“After overnight discussions between our teams in Sri Lanka and the SLC, the decision has been made to postpone the series and bring players and support staff home. Our aim will be to reschedule the series,” said an ECB spokesman.

The news came while England was midway through their final four-day warm-up match, ahead of the two-Test series which had been scheduled to get underway in Galle on March 19. Play continued for a few minutes after the announcement, before the players left the field at 3.40pm yesterday.

The ECB had been in regular contact with the Sri Lankan and British High Commissions, in addition to Sri Lanka Cricket to address a “highly evolving” situation. However, with the UK and Sri Lanka governments intensifying their respective measures to contain the virus, the decision was, said the ECB, “beyond cricket”.

The spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka is currently less intense than in the UK, with two confirmed patients as of Wednesday. However, amid the tightening or closing of borders, and the cancellation of international travel, it is understood that England's desire to get home was a key factor in the decision.

‘'Due to the Covid-19 pandemic worsening globally, and after discussions with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have today made the decision to return our players to the UK and postpone the forthcoming Test series between Sri Lanka and England,” the ECB said.

“At this time, the physical and mental wellbeing of our players and support teams is paramount. We will now look to bring them home to their families as soon as possible. These are completely unprecedented times, and decisions like this go beyond cricket.

“We would like to thank our colleagues at Sri Lanka Cricket for their outstanding support and assistance throughout this situation. We look forward to returning to Sri Lanka in the very near future to fulfill this important Test series.'’

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.

S. Thomas’ College for the second straight day, ended day two, gaining a slim lead, after posting an imposing 369, taking all the time in the world and late strikes pushing Royal College behind with a sizeable deficit of 242 to clear, at close yesterday in the 141st Battle of the Blues cricket encounter played at the SSC grounds yesterday.

The Thomian bowlers struck late yesterday, trapping SL U-19 cap Ahan Wickramasinghe, a key man, who had to walk back to the hut for a 40-ball 24. This was after S. Thomas’ had conceded a wicket-less post-lunch session, the first of the match that saw the Royalist off to a steady start but in a spot of bother towards stumps.

The Thomian weakness in their bowling was exposed conveniently allowing Royal’s opening pair to record the match’s first opening wicket 50 plus partnership for 61.

Spinner Kishan Munasinghe made the badly needed breakthrough by sending Kawshan for 31, caught smartly at slips by Shalin de Mel. The exact combination of the bowler-fielder was repeated in the dismissal of Kamil Mishara.

It soon became three down subsequent to crossing the 100-run mark. Thomian skipper Thevindu Eriyagama provided the joy, picking up his first wicket removing wicket-keeper Kavindu Madarasinghe for 24.

Royalist, in reply to the mammoth 369, kept on rotating the strike. They appeared in no hurry, except for the sporadic appeals, only delaying the breakthrough for the Thomians.

Thevin and Co. would be satisfied for coming back to the game, after letting their opponent’s off-the-hook. The Thomians resuming at their overnight score of six for 272, exceeding all expectations, went on till the end of an extended morning session.

Over the two-and-a-half hour stay, they virtually scored another hundred. While Thomians thickly occupied the crease, Royal’s catching crisis haunted them, dropping two more sitters, in the early stages after resumption. Maneesha was dropped on 18 and 21, thanks to a day-dreaming slip fielder and again in matter of moments off gloveman Kavindu. Despite the double new lease of life, he failed to make the most, though, he chipped in with a 25.

In aggregate, the Reid Avenue lads, failed to grab half-a-dozen chances. On the other end, Gavin Botheju, picked up from where he left going on to notch a painstaking 54 off 176 deliveries.

The Thomians skipper Thevin’s arrival only increased the anticipation and the curiosity, keeping all waiting for the long overdue declaration. However, the last pair added 59 runs, before a premeditated attempt found him short of the crease and three away from a half-century. They were eventually bowled out for 369. Today is the final day and the Thomians look assured of retaining the Rt Hon DS Senanayake trophy at Mt Lavinia for yet another year.

NEW DELHI, Friday - The Indian Premier League, the world's most lucrative cricket competition, on Friday postponed the start of this year's tournament amid mounting anxiety in India over the coronavirus pandemic.

While the country of 1.3 billion has reported just one death from coronavirus and 81 confirmed cases, the government has ordered measures against travel and public gatherings similar to the worst-hit nations.

Postponing the cricket tournament, which draws the world's top players from Australia, England and South Africa, and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues each year dominated Indian headlines Friday. But it came as a virtual halt on incoming tourists and business visitors came into effect from Friday.

Most of the foreign cricketers would not have been able to play in the IPL because of the visa restrictions. And the government has also ordered the closing of about half of its 37 land border crossing points with neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal from Saturday.

Halting the IPL came after New Delhi and Mumbai banned large gatherings for sporting events. Delhi and the southern state of Karnataka have also ordered schools, cinemas and theatres to close.

INDIA-SOUTH AFRICA ODIs CANCELLED

India also called off its two remaining one-day cricket internationals against a visiting South Africa side. The next game was to be played in Lucknow on Sunday. The start of the IPL has been put back from March 29 until April 15 “as a precautionary measure” over the coronavirus, the Indian cricket board said. Media reports said that even if the tournament does start after April 15 it was likely to be without fans in the stadium. The two month tournament is a huge revenue earner.

The Twenty20 competition is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy and involves cricket's top international stars like England's Ben Stokes, Australia's David Warner and Indian captain Virat Kohli. Chinese mobile-maker Vivo paid $330 million to be the top sponsor for 2018-2022 for the league.

It involves eight teams playing 60 matches to packed, raucous stadiums of tens of thousands of spectators across India. - AFP

KARACHI, Friday - Pakistan's Twenty20 league will continue despite closed stadiums and an exodus of foreign players who are heading home over the coronavirus crisis, cricketing authorities in the country said Friday.

On Thursday the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said upcoming matches would be played in an empty stadium in Karachi, and offered teams and individual players the option to withdraw from the league.

Many have done so, including Alex Hales (England) of the Karachi Kings; Rilee Rossouw (South Africa) and James Vince (England) from the Multan Sultans; and Peshawar Zalmi's Tom Banton, Liam Dawson, coach James Foster, Lewis Gregory and Liam Livingstone (all from England).

In addition, Peshawar Zalmi's Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies) and the Quetta Gladiators’ Jason Roy and Tymal Mills (both from England) will also leave.

“All players and support personnel have been given the option to withdraw from the PSL 2020 should they wish to do so,” the PCB said in a statement, adding that no player had to date tested positive for coronavirus. The PCB also shortened the league, replacing play-offs with two semi-finals (both in Lahore on March 17) and the final on March 18, instead of March 22, also in Lahore. Pakistan are due to host Bangladesh for a one-day international (April 1) and a Test (April 5-9) -- both in Karachi. The PCB has not yet decided the fate of those matches.

Pakistan has recorded 21 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus -- including several in Karachi -- but no deaths, according to Mumtaz Ali Khan from the National Institute of Health. – AFP

The much awaited rugby game between rivals Trinity College and St. Anthony’s College was played behind closed doors due to the threat of the corona virus. Only the school officials were allowed to the venue. So, in this key game, Trinity had the satisfaction of overcoming St Anthony’s by 26 points (3 goals, 1 try) to 5 (1 try) in their Dialog inter-schools rugby match played at nittawela yesterday.

Trinity controlled the game through their hard working players; they had enough possession and they really rattled the opposition through some superb loose play and led 19-5 at half time.

In the second half too, Trinity began in much the same fashion with their XV gaining control of the game. It was the forwards who won them the match. They were outstanding in the loose getting behind the ball fast and tackling well. Their bustling game upset the talented Antonians who could not get good ball however much they tried in the second half.

The Trinity halves combination clicked well, the scrum half slinging out his passes accurately and standoff opening out the game and also finding good touch when on the defence. The Antonians used their superior weight and binding much tighter and lower had the ball more often. That they could not turn this to their advantage speaks volumes for the speed and anticipation of the Trinity halves combination and the third row.

Dilum Dheeshana refereed.

Test discard Lahiru Thirimanne did not have luck on his side as he approached what would have been a deserving century against the England tourists when he scored an undefeated 88 off 115 balls for Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI on the second day of the 4-day warm-up match at the P Sara Oval when it was called off soon after the tea break as England took the decision to return home on the mounting threat of the corona virus.

The match was called off 11 overs after tea, a few minutes after the ECB confirmed that the Test series scheduled for later this month had been cancelled.

The SLC President’s XI at that stage in reply to England’s first innings of 463, were 150-3 with Thirimanne batting fluently hitting 12 fours in his unbeaten knock.

Thirimanne and Angelo Perera who scored an aggressive 38 off 53 balls (7 fours) added 83 for the third wicket after Chris Woakes had threatened to run through the top order with two early wickets in his opening spell dismissing Pathum Nissanka for a golden duck and then held onto a sharp chance offered by Sadeera Samarawickrama who made four.

Following Perera’s dismissal when he was bowled by leg-spinner Matt Parkinson with his seventh ball, Thirimanne associated himself in another useful stand of 55 with Roshen Silva (11 not out) when the match ended.

Earlier England captain Joe Root became the second centurion for his team when he scored 102 off 139 balls (9 fours) and shared a fourth wicket stand of 190 with Ollie Pope who missed his hundred by five runs when he was dismissed for 95 scored off 134 balls (8 fours).

England resuming at their overnight total of 354-3 were dismissed for 463 losing seven wickets for 91 with with left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya taking six wickets 6 for 164 off 37.4 overs that included the wickets of Root and Pope.

Off spinner Ramesh Mendis of whom much was expected managed only a solitary wicket conceding 106 runs.

England brought in Parkinson as an injury replacement for Ben Stokes following the allrounder’s abdominal strain.

The Weersinghe brothers Matheesha and Gayana helped to Maliyadeva College Kurunegala to an impressive first day total of 331-6 in their 37th ‘Battle of the Rocks’ annual cricket encounter against St Anne’s College played at Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala yesterday.

St. Anne’s who won the toss elected to field first and saw Maliyadeva pile up the massive total with which is their highest in the big match history. Opener Matheesha Weerasinghe scored 113 off 234 balls with 13 fours and his younger brother Gayana Weerasinghe (15 years old) made 58 off 98 balls with 9 fours in an opening stand of 56. Two Weerasinghe brothers represented the

school for the first time in a big match. The match will be continued today on day two.

Scores:

Maliyadeva: 331/6 (103.5) at close (Matheesha Weerasinghe 113, Gayana Weerasinghe 58, Ishara Munasinghe 43, Chaluka Atapattu 43, Amesh Tennakoon 28, Muditha Premadasa 26, Brian Karunanayake 15 n.o., Kavindu Ranasinghe 2/57) vs St. Anne’s Kurunegala. - (YK)

Bandarawela Central College lead St. Joseph’s College Bandarawela by 12 runs on the first innings on the first day of their 16th ‘Battle of the Golds Uva’ annual cricket encounter played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota yesterday.

Bandarawela Central won the toss and elected to field first and dismissed St. Joseph’s for 88 in 46.1 overs with Chathum Lakpriya and Yasith Heshan taking three wickets apiece.

Bandarawela Central in reply were 100 for 7 at the close. The match will be continued today on day two.

Scores:

St. Joseph’s Bandarawela: 88 (46.1) (Pasan Hirudika 24, Chathum Lakpriya 3/7, Yasith Heshan 3/13, Avishka Hansana 2/21)

Bandarawela Central: 100/7 (52) at close (Pamudu Sachintha 26, Ruchira Wijesundara 25 n.o., Yasith Heshan 21, Randunu Roshan 2/17, Uthpala Lankathilaka 2/18, Yasiru Ruwantha 2/20)

(YK)

CCC left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara took 6 wickets for 85 runs to dismiss Army CC for 223 on the first day of the SLC Major Tier ‘A’ 3-day Inter-Club cricket match played at Panagoda yesterday. All matches will continue on day two today.

DAY ONE SCORES

nAt Panagoda: Army CC: 233 (69.2) (Lakshan Edirisinghe 69, Asela Gunaratne 37, Dushan Vimukthi 33, Gihan Koralage 29, Ashan Randika 27, Malinda Pushpakumara 6/85, Ashan Priyanjan 3/43)

CCC: 60/3 (18) at close (Sonal Dinusha 23, Dushan Vimukthi 3/17)

nAt Colts: Negombo CC: 294 (82.1) (Madhawa Warnapura 73, Lakshitha Manasinghe 65, Upul Indrasiri 29, Roscoe Thattil 26, Pasindu Ishira 22, Nisala Tharaka 3/56, Dilshan Madushanka 2/30, Akila Dhananjaya 2/87)

Colts CC: 4/1 (1) at close

nAt Moors: SSC: 284 (62.1) (Charith Asalanka 60, Sandun Weerakkody 53, Nuwindu Fernando 43, Akash Senaratne 37, Tharindu Ratnayake 24, Sammu Ashan 24, Praveen Jayawickrame 3/47, Ayana Siriwardane 3/51, Kavishka Anjula 2/56, Sachithra Serasinghe 2/57)

Moors SC: 119/2 (27) at close (Pabasara Waduge 64 n.o., Dinuka Dilshan 36)

(YK)

LONDON, Friday - Golf’s jewel in the crown The Masters and England’s top-flight soccer league joined the ever-lengthening list of elite sporting events to fall foul of the coronavirus pandemic on Friday.

Few dates on the global sporting calendar are as keenly-anticipated as the Augusta National showpiece, but organisers have moved swiftly to postpone golf’s opening major which was due to be played between April 9-12.

England’s hugely-popular Premier League announced it was suspending matches until April 4, while soccer’s European governing body UEFA said that next week’s matches in the Champions League and Europa League would not be played.

The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain.

This weekend’s season opener in Australia was cancelled only hours before the first practice session. England cricket players were heading home after their tour of Sri Lanka was called off on Friday, while this weekend’s Six Nations rugby match between Wales and Scotland also succumbed.

France’s Top 14, the richest rugby union league in the world, was also suspended on Friday.

In cycling, organisers of the Giro d’Italia said the race, due to start in Budapest on May 9, had been postponed. After two days of shutdowns and cancellations the sporting cupboard for thenext two months looks bare.

On Thursday, the big American sports leagues — NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball — were all suspended, the ATP men’s tennis tour was shut down and golf’s Players Championship was abandoned after one round.

The postponement of the Masters, won in fairytale fashion by Tiger Woods last year, sent shockwaves through golf although with the PGA Tour suspended until April 5 it was not a surprise.

“Unfortunately, the ever-increasing risks associated with the widespread Coronavirus COVID-19 have led us to a decision that undoubtedly will be disappointing to many, although I am confident is appropriate under these unique circumstances,” Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said in a statement.

“We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date.” Nearly 2,000 people have been infected across the U.S.

Britain’s government on Thursday stopped short of banning mass gatherings of people — but that decision was quickly overtaken by events as the country’s soccer leagues reacted to the fast-moving situation by putting the season on hold. afp