Sri Lanka tour of West Indies to go ahead with full series

Sri Lanka will leave for their tour of the West Indies on February 23, five days later than originally scheduled, and will play a full series of three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed in a statement yesterday.  

Sri Lanka were to leave on February 18, but the tour was put in doubt when Mickey Arthur and Lahiru Thirimanne tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the entire training squad being asked to self-isolate. 

But after the players returned negative results in a subsequent PCR test last week, SLC moved to resume preparations on Friday (12). 

There was some suggestion that the tour would be shortened, but as Daily Mirror reported, Cricket West Indies were keen for the full tour to go ahead as planned, even if the dates were slightly delayed. 

The matches will be played exclusively in Antigua, and will start with the three T20Is, all to be played in the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG). 

The three-match ODI series will follow, and will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, before the teams return to the CCG for the two Tests, which are part of the World Test Championship.