On the third day of the third Test between England and South Africa, the first ball was delivered in a reverent environment at The Oval after a guard of honour and a minute of silence to commemorate the passing of Queen Elizabeth.
England won the toss for the deciding Test of the series, which is tied 1-1, and decided to bowl on Thursday morning.
The first day, however, was ruined by rain, and the second was canceled after the death of the queen was announced.
This weekend’s scheduled Premier League matches were played, although it was up to each individual athletic organization to determine whether or not to play.
A few great moments as the cricket community honors Her Majesty the Queen. pic.twitter.com/3QnZiFEOKq
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 10, 2022
Many at The Oval sang “God Save The King” for the first time in their lives prior to the start of the play, which was followed by a lengthy round of applause as photos of the queen were presented on the field.
Ben Stokes, captain of England, told media before the play, “She was a person who devoted her life to the nation and who serves as an inspiration.” “We are honored to have the opportunity to play today.
“Sport is something that people come to watch and enjoy, but it also unites them. It is wonderful to be standing here knowing that we will play this game in honor of the Queen.”
The cloudy weather will aid England’s bowlers, who have already taken two wickets in the opening 15 minutes. each of the previous two games in the series were completed within two days.
“We’ve attempted to play positive cricket throughout the summer, and we’ll need to do so again with the test lasting only three days,” Stokes added.
“Everything we do on the field will be in an effort to achieve a result. We must go out there and execute as best we can. Because the game is so short, we must just focus on the present and see where the game goes.
If we had to redo the coin toss, I don’t believe we would have done anything differently.
Reuters