Sri Lanka agree to England tour - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Sri Lanka agree to England tour

Sri Lanka will replace Zimbabwe as England's first opponents of next summer, it was announced on Tuesday.

The England and Wales Cricket Board severed bilateral ties with Zimbabwe Cricket two weeks ago on account of the drastic deterioration of life in the African country under Robert Mugabe's regime.

The ECB have since been looking for replacements to play the two May Tests at Lord's and the Riverside, with Sri Lanka agreeing to step in as England build up for the Ashes later in the summer.

The tourists will also play three NatWest Series one-day internationals and a match against England Lions at Derby.

ECB chief executive David Collier said: "We are delighted that Sri Lanka will tour in the early part of next summer."

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