No cricket in England until late May

LONDON: No professional cricket will be played in England and Wales before May 28 due to the coronavirus pandemic, cricket chiefs announced on Friday.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approved a seven-week delay to the start of the 2020 season following discussions with the counties and the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).

The County Championship, which comprises four-day first-class matches, was due to start on April 12.

The Champion County match, the annual curtain-raiser for the year, was to be played between the Marylebone Cricket Club and Essex later this month in Sri Lanka, but had been called off.

The ECB said it had begun modelling a range of options to start the season in June, July or August.