England Test preparations continue as normal "until anyone tells us anything different", says Graham Thorpe

Amid an uncertain backdrop, England began their final warmup match in Colombo, reaching 354 for 3 at stumps against a President’s XI side ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka

England are continuing to press on with preparations for the first Test of their two-match series in Sri Lanka, according to assistant coach Graham Thorpe.

The coronavirus pandemic has provided an uncertain backdrop for the tour, with the Sri Lankan government temporarily suspending the on-arrival visa facility for foreign tourists until further notice as part of efforts to control the spread of Covid-19.

In the meantime, England began their final warmup match in Colombo, reaching 354 for 3 at stumps against a President’s XI side; there was a century for Zak Crawley, while Joe Root ended the day unbeaten on 90 and Ollie Pope alongside him on 84.

“Until anyone tells us anything different, we'll carry on with business as usual and work hard and prepare for the first Test in Galle,” Thorpe told Sky Sports.

“Naturally you are seeing things but until anyone tells us anything different we're encouraging the guys to stay full focused on their cricket.”

Crawley began the tour with scores of 43 and 91, before reaching his first hundred in an England shirt. Root and Pope’s unbroken partnership reached 175 before the close.

Thorpe added of Crawley: “He's developing really well as a player who has just been around the England set up for the last three or four months.

“He's a good character – really willing to learn and he seems to study the game himself. He's made some really good progress, so we're really pleased with him.”

The former batsman, who made 113 in a four-wicket win in Colombo in 2001, also explained that he had discussed batting plans for the series with England’s young top order.

“We've sat down and had good conversations about it – getting used to the heat, the temperature, the humidity,” he said.

“Obviously Sri Lanka are normally dominated by spin, although you must keep an eye on what to do against the seamers as well.

“Our first three-day game gave us a nice little warning as we lost eight wickets to seamers. But in this game the spinners have bowled quite a lot so far.

“We're playing well and I'm really pleased with the effort the guys have shown at the crease.”

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