adminEngland’s Test cricket side, led by Ben Stokes, sang God Save the King before the third day of the third Test match against South Africa at The Oval before play on Saturday.
England’s men’s cricketers gave an emotional rendition of God Save the King before their Test match against South Africa at The Oval on Saturday morning.
Friday’s play was called off out of respect, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral on Thursday, aged 96. But the England and Wales Cricket Board decided to go ahead with day three of the Test match in front of a packed crowd in south London after consulting with DCMS and in line with Official National Mourning Guidance.
Players came out of the dressing rooms to a military guard of honour before undertaking two minutes’ silence. Both teams then sang their respective national anthems. Players from both sides will wear black armbands for the remaining three days of the Test match.
King Charles III is being formally sworn in as the new monarch while the Test match continues at the Oval. The 73-year-old royal automatically assumed the title when Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, but today’s proclamation is a ceremonial one.
“It’s obviously been a sad couple of days not only for us but the whole nation and the world as well,” Stokes told BBC Test Match Special before play started.
“It’s great to be stood here knowing that we’re going to be playing this game, not just for us but in memory of the Queen so it’s a very special occasion for us.
“We were still waiting for confirmation of what was going to happen this week so the lads were just sitting around waiting for that. Once we heard the news it was good to hear from our point of view. There wasn’t much going on for us to be honest. – Mirror.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter