Southampton, (UK)
England captain Ben Stokes decided to bat in the first Test against the West Indies at Southampton on Wednesday as international cricket resumed for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown.
Stokes was leading England for the first time, with regular captain Joe Root missing the match to attend the birth of his second child.
England left out veteran paceman Stuart Broad after rain meant there was no play before lunch in the first of this three-Test series being played behind closed doors.
Players from both teams and match officials have taken part in a poignant gesture in support of the Black Lives Matter movement before play in the first Test between England and West Indies at the Ageas bowl.
The players, support staff and umpires all took a knee, with each member of the West Indies team wearing a black glove on his right hand, which they raised in a fist while kneeling. After rain delayed the start of play in Southampton by three hours until 2pm, both teams stood in a semi-circle around the pitch to observe a minute’s silence for those who have lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic and for Sir Everton Weekes, who died on July 1 aged 95.
Immediately afterwards, the players – along with umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth – took up their positions and all dropped to one knee, with the fielding West Indies players raising their gloved hand. England batsmen Rory Burns and Dom Sibley knelt at the crease as the rest of the England players and support staff were kneeling down on the boundary in a powerful showing of solidarity.
Both teams had spoplayed for nearly four months in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – the England and West Indies teams announced they would wear a Black Lives Matter logos on their playing shirts and suggested they would do something more to mark the movement before the start of play.
Ben Stokes, standing in as England captain for the first Test while Joe Root is on paternity leave, said on the eve of the match: “There is going to be a gesture shown from us as a team in support of Black Lives Matter towards the equality in society throughout cricket and throughout sport. We aren’t in any way, shape or form showing support towards any political matters on the movement. We are all about the equality through society and sport.”
In June, the ICC said it would take a “common sense” approach to players “using their platform to appropriately express their support for a more equitable society” with such expressions to be “assessed on a case-by-case basis by the match officials”. In the past, the ICC has acted when players have made statements that could be considered political.
The worldwide protests have sparked discussion on systemic racism within sport, including cricket. Michael Carberry, the former England batsman, claiming “cricket is rife with racism”. Daren Sammy has also spoken out, revealing he was given a racist nickname while playing in the IPL. —Agencies
