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Scotland have withdrawn from the upcoming women's series with Ireland at La Manga following specialist advice, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The five-match series, both teams' first competitive action of 2020, was set to start in Spain on Friday.

Cricket Ireland said that the decision was made "due to concerns at the continuing and evolving high levels of the virus in Scotland, and in light of updated specialist advice received in the last 24 hours on the risks to the players in the current circumstances."

The teams were scheduled to meet in two 50-over games and three Twenty20 encounters.

"It was with great regret that we had to inform our players and support staff that Scotland have withdrawn from the tour on the eve of departure," said Richard Holdsworth, high performance director for Cricket Ireland.

"Despite significant work and planning by all parties to mitigate risks in regard to Covid-19, it is regrettable that we are where we are. We are all disappointed for our squad as we know how hard they have been preparing for this series.

"The tour was important to start building the players' loads as preparation for next year's World Cup Qualifier, particularly given the lack of international playing time for the squad this year.

"We shall take stock of the situation, and look to re-engineer our plans as soon as possible."