England confirm two-Test tour of Sri Lanka will go ahead in January 2021

England will play two Test matches behind closed doors in Sri Lanka next month, the England and Wales Cricket Board has announced.

The PA news agency understands the ECB has ramped up bio-security plans in a bid to avoid a repeat of this week’s abandonment of the South Africa tour.

Players will isolate for three days after arriving in Sri Lanka and will undergo full coronavirus testing every two days throughout the trip.

The first Test will start on January 14 with the travelling party departing on a chartered flight on January 2 and being subject to quarantine in Hambantota.

England had been due to undertake a similar two-Test trip to Sri Lanka in March this year, but it also ended with the tourists leaving early as the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold.

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