It was only ever meant to be a bridge to tide employers over a short-term loss of trade. And however much we might hope not, a wave of redundancies seems inevitable.

RUTH SUNDERLAND COLUMN: If ministers let Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic crash into the ground, we will all be the poorer for it.

RUTH SUNDERLAND: Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has injected a very welcome dose of hope into an atmosphere of almost unrelenting despair since replacing Mark Carney.

Heather Knight called on the ICC to change their rain rules after England's dream of reaching the T20 World Cup final was washed away in Sydney.

Woakes was picked up by Delhi Capitals for £160,000 at the tournament draft in December but has opted to pull out in a bid to keep himself fresh for the international summer.

PAUL NEWMAN IN COLOMBO: Dom Sibley begins the latest leg of his journey towards becoming an established Test opener confident he can adapt to the very different conditions in Sri Lanka.

PAUL NEWMAN IN KATUNAYAKE, SRI LANKA: England were only facing an inexperienced Sri Lanka Cricket XI but Parkinson bowled with accuracy and varied his pace intelligently.

Woakes, 31, was signed by Delhi Capitals for £160,000 in the IPL draft but pulled out last week when he realised he needed to 'get off the treadmill' and focus on England.

Northamptonshire's decision to travel to Singapore on Monday for a 12-day warm weather trip led Nottinghamshire to scrub it, fearful that facing such opponents invited unnecessary risk.

STUART BROAD: It was quite an eerie feeling on Friday when Joe Root addressed us to let us know that the tour of Sri Lanka was off. We felt quite a long way from the levels of worry in England.

EXCLUSIVE: English cricket is facing a 'cash black hole' as it struggles to come to terms with the implications of the coronavirus. The warning came from Surrey ahead of a conference call.

DAVID LLOYD IN HIS GARDEN: I thought I would be spending my 73rd birthday in Galle preparing for England's first Test against Sri Lanka but, instead, I find myself self-isolating at home.

England's cricketers would not play any rescheduled Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean until December at the earliest, it has emerged.

DAVID LLOYD: It's all pretty surreal now, isn't it? Things have certainly moved on apace since last we spoke and I just hope everyone is staying well and doing the right thing.

Not only is the 37-year-old fully fit after the broken rib that curtailed his tour of South Africa but he wants to ensure he makes the very most of what remains of his record-breaking career.

The ECB are soon to outline details of the financial support package they will offer counties who will hit problems because the start of the domestic season has been delayed due to coronavirus.

The Test side could face West Indies or Pakistan, this season's proposed red-ball opponents, while Eoin Morgan's white-ball World Cup winners face Australia, who are currently due here in July

EOIN MORGAN: As we took the field to defend 15 in the super over in the World Cup final last summer, Jos Buttler told me he hoped I had a couple of shamrocks in my pocket.

Late last year, and with a heavy heart, I was rereading Bob Willis's Diary of a Cricket Season, written in 1978. After only three paragraphs, Bob was in off the long run.

PAUL NEWMAN: If cricket returns this summer, one key proposal by the ECB is for the Test and white-ball sides to play at the same time to enable as much action as possible to take place. 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: England batsman Joe Denly admits his nerves almost got the better of him during this winter's tour to South Africa when he presented Zak Crawley with his first cap.

Ben Stokes, the hero of England's dramatic World Cup triumph and the miracle of Headingley last summer, has been named the leading cricketer in the world.

Wisden is published on Thursday for the 157th time. It is full of joy, and staring into the abyss. The Almanack's arrival usually coincides with a spring in cricket's step. But this year, not so much.

The ECB are considering a re-draft of players if they postpone the Hundred for 12 months - due to changes in status of Kolpak cricketers and the availability of overseas stars.

JOFRA ARCHER: Being chosen as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year is one of the most prestigious awards imaginable. Even being nominated alongside some big names feels great.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY TIM RICH: Ian Gould has just been walking on the seafront at Hove. It is eerie; empty. He retired as an international umpire after 13 years following last summer's World Cup.

Coco Cuhna made the mistake of suggesting to her cricket coach boyfriend that it might be fun to see if he could show her how to bat when she saw him whacking a few tennis balls into a net.

The traditional toss of the coin was due to return to the County Championship on Sunday but the half-dozen grounds scheduled to host fixtures stood empty.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eight months on and the noise of that unforgiving Edgbaston crowd is still ringing in Cameron Bancroft's ears. 'It was loud, it was intimidating.'

Fears over international teams getting stuck at this year's Twenty20 World Cup will feature prominently in the ICC's teleconference talks between chief executives next Thursday.

Sportsmail columnists Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd answer your questions including who were the hardest batsmen to plan for and will England lift the T20 World Cup?

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Rashid will turn 35 during the next World Cup in 2023 but with the tournament set for the spin-friendly pitches of India, he says he'd love to be involved.

EXCLUSIVE: Ian Watmore quit his leading Football League role in November 2018 citing poor health. But it can be revealed a week earlier the EFL had commissioned an independent inquiry.

Almost the whole squad were stricken by two sickness bugs, the first a type of flu and the second a stomach problem, that weakened England in their heavy first Test defeat over Christmas.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Luke Sutton is looking back on the chance meeting almost nine years ago with his old Lancashire captain that quite possibly saved his life.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that all players are entitled to 12.5 per cent of their deals even if the competition does not take place.

SPECIAL REPORT: There are growing concerns that the new franchise-based tournament is unaffordable given the challenges facing cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic.

COMMENT: The postponement of the controversial new format for at least a year - which will be confirmed on Friday - gives the ECB the opportunity to admit their mistake.

The ECB had initially announced that no cricket would be played in the UK until May 28 at the earliest, but - as expected - the pandemic has caused a further delay.

Lockdown has offered extended periods of reflection for sports people and Joe Denly has had a lot to ponder. Not least how spectacularly things have transformed for him in the last decade.

MIKE KEEGAN - SPORTS AGENDA: It would appear that the England and Wales Cricket Board can do no wrong at the moment when it comes to dealing with the Press.

In a report seen by Sportsmail, consultants Oakwell Sports Advisory recommend selling a stake in each of the eight franchises to private equity as a potential solution to the financial issues.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD GIBSON: Stuart Broad will be ready to play for England in any situation that the ECB's medical experts deem appropriate.

Cricket manufacturer Kookaburra have developed a wax applicator that would allow balls to be shined without using sweat or saliva during the coronavirus crisis.

Mark Wood, the England fast bowler who has produced the best form of his career over the last year or so, says the players have 'asked good questions' and have been given 'good answers'.

Bold and The Beautiful star Rena Sofer praised former co-star Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men, telling The Morning Show on Thursday the actor was a pleasure to work with.

She has always shown her magnanimous side throughout their confrontations. In the Twitter image she sits at a table with the Two And A Half Men star and their daughters.

Charlie Sheen opened up about his life in the year since he publicly announced he was HIV-positive and revealed that when he was first diagnosed he thought about suicide.

Erstwhile spouses Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen took their two daughters, 12-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Lola, to a Twenty-One Pilots concert in Anaheim on Wednesday.

The 51-year-old appeared to comply with authorities as he disembarked his plane so it could be inspected by police, who were joined by sniffer dogs.