Stuart Broad credits ECB after Sri Lanka tour decision but expresses concern over rescheduling hopes

The England seamer documents the strange atmosphere around the camp as the inevitable decision grew ever closer

• England Test in Sri Lanka called off
• English cricketing summer faces major upheaval

England bowler Stuart Broad believes the ECB have made the right decision in postponing the Test series in Sri Lanka.

The tourists were mid-way through their second warm-up match when the decision to pull the matches in Galle and Colombo due to the coronavirus outbreak was made.

Sri Lanka borders have now been shut to prevent England fans from travelling to the country.

Captain Joe Root said the global pandemic had unsettled the squad and was relieved when the tour was finally delayed.

Broad has echoed the comments of the skipper and admits a strange atmosphere had come over the camp as events across the world fell victim to the pandemic.

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"It was quite an eerie feeling on Friday when Joe Root addressed us as a squad to let us know that the tour of Sri Lanka was off," he wrote in the Mail on Sunday. "Out there we felt quite a long way from the levels of worry in England.

"Obviously we had been kept up to date with what was happening back home via social media and it was quite surreal to see people fighting over loo roll in the supermarkets.

"The call came from the top, whether from Tom Harrison, or Ashley Giles, or others in the hierarchy at the ECB. They made a very tough but necessary decision and credit to them for putting the players and the fans first.

"It can't have been easy, with all the financial aspects of a tour like this, and ultimately we want to be playing cricket for England so we were sad to be leaving."

^{Joe Root admitted he was relieved when the tour was called off}

It remains to be seen when England can indeed fulfil the outstanding fixtures, given the congested nature of the cricketing calendar.

Broad hopes the team can return to Sri Lanka for the series but accepts it could be problematic.

"Despite the disappointment, though, the right decision has been made and we all look forward to coming back and completing this series at some stage," England's second-highest Test wicket-taker added.

"When that will be, who knows? Cricket schedules are already pretty densely populated with fixtures and squeezing it in somewhere will not be easy."