ICC Challenge League A postponed due to coronavirus

Dubai, March 6:  The International Cricket Council (ICC) has postponed the second series of the Cricket World Cup (CWC) Challenge League A set to begin on March 16 in Malaysia due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The 11-day tournament was scheduled between March 16 and 26 and involves teams from Canada, Denmark, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, and Vanuatu. The ICC now hopes to reschedule the event later in the year.

The tournament is the second of three rounds that make up on of the two groups in the Challenge League - the third tier of the 2023 World Cup qualification ladder.

"We have made the difficult decision to postpone the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League A due to the coronavirus outbreak," ICC Head of Events, Chris Tetley said.

"We have been monitoring the situation very closely and have concluded that the best course of action is to postpone the event owing to the increasing travel difficulties between countries and the potential uncertainty around teams returning home.

"I would like to thank the Malaysian Cricket Association and all participating members for their support. The wellbeing of everyone involved is our first priority and we look forward to the event being played later in the year," he added.

Earlier, the women's quadrangular T20I series between Thailand, Ireland, the Netherlands and Zimbabwe -- that was set to be held in Chiang Mai in April - was also postponed due to the coronovirus outbreak.

Over 90,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported so far across the globe and more than 3,000 people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease outbreak.