MATTALA (Sri Lanka): England cricket team arrived in Sri Lanka to resume a Test tour cancelled in the early days of the Covid pandemic.
A British Airways charter flight carrying the players and support staff landed in Mattala, in the south of the Indian Ocean island, where they underwent antigen tests.
Joe Root’s men had the small airport to themselves as Sri Lanka has closed its airspace to scheduled commercial airlines. Only a handful of repatriation flights and charters are allowed into Sri Lanka since May under strict health controls.
“We are very excited about the Galle Tests,” said Root.
Airport staff in white hazmat suits sprayed the hands and footwear of the visitors and their luggage before they were allowed into the terminal for coronavirus tests.
Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, Ashley Giles, said the team looked forward to playing at the seaside Galle stadium adjoining a colonial-era fort.
“To play in Galle will be very special –- it is one of the iconic venues in world cricket,” he said in a statement.
