New Delhi, India
England and South Africa have been involved in a three-match Test cricket series recently. While the series has been marred by a number of unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, the team recently recorded in an inspiring moment before the match.
Ahead of the commencement of play on the third day of the Test against South Africa, The Oval echoed with chants of the English national anthem, 'God Save the King'.
English soprano Laura Wright appeared at the grounds to lead the chants shortly after the players had made their way onto the field through a guard of honour in memory of their monarch.
In addition, the players and fans jointly participated in a minute of silence as a mark of respect towards the Queen, which was flawlessly observed at The Oval.
God Save The King sung for the first time at the Cricket this morning to great respect. Wish Football had been allowed to do the same this weekend but as so often its virtue signalling above actions. RIP Queen Elizabeth II. #ENGvSA #QueenElizabeth #GodSaveTheKing ??????? pic.twitter.com/kuTKEytUSq
â CFC Making History âï¸âï¸ (@CFC_MH) September 10, 2022
Before the players got down to business, England skipper Ben Stokes released a statement opening up about the team's mindset ahead of the game, which is being conducted shortly after the demise of their monarch.
He asserted that the entire team felt a great deal of honour to be offered the opportunity to play the match in the Queen's memory.
âItâs obviously been a sad couple of days not only for us but the whole nation and the world as well. Itâs great to be here knowing that weâre going to be playing this game, not just for us but in memory of the Queen so itâs a very special occasion for us."
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"We were still waiting for confirmation of what was going to happen this week so the lads were just sitting around waiting for that yesterday."
"Once we heard the news it was good to hear from our point of view. There wasnât much going on for us yesterday to be honest,â said Stokes.