England will kick off the one-day international series against Sri Lanka on June 29, live on Sky Sports; Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “We will continue to do everything we can to get as many people as possible to watch sporting and cultural events live as safely and quickly as possible.”
England’s international one-day series against Sri Lanka will be held in front of larger-than-expected crowds after being named as a government test event.
Precise details on the numbers have not been revealed yet, but next week’s games at Durham, Kia Oval and Bristol will not be subject to the current strict limits for outdoor events.
England have already played in one of these pilot events, with more than 17,000 daily fans allowed in Edgbaston’s test against New Zealand.
The next series of white balls against Pakistan will also be part of the Government’s “event research program”, but work on Sri Lanka’s matches is taking priority.
None of Twenty20’s three international matches against Sri Lanka, to be played this week, will have a larger number of spectators with the two matches in Cardiff subject to delegated Welsh government and the final match in the Ageas Bowl not included in the test.
In announcing the news, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: “Summer is all about cricket and I am delighted to be able to include England’s upcoming ODI and IT20 series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in our pioneering Events Research Program.
“Thanks to our tremendous vaccine launch and the massive adoption of the NHS app, we will be able to welcome a much larger number of cricket fans to Durham, Bristol and The Oval.
“We will continue to do everything we can to get as many people as possible to see live sporting and cultural events again as safely and quickly as possible.”
