Emotional England Cricketers Become First Sports Team to Sing ‘God Save the King’ Before SA Test
- 2 years ago
ENGLAND cricketers sang a chilling first televised performance of "God Save the King" before a sporting event in the 70 years since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Yesterday's play was canceled as a show of respect after her death on Thursday at the age of 96.
After consultation with DCMS and in accordance with the Official National Duel Guide, the decision was made to resume play on Saturday morning.
England's third Test against South Africa started late, with the stars wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.
The players entered the field flanked by a military honor guard, before those in attendance at the Oval observed a minute of immaculate silence.
The South African national anthem was then played, before the passionate crowd, led by soprano Laura Wright, sang a rousing rendition of God Save the King.
It was the first sporting occasion since the death of Queen Elizabeth II that this version of the anthem, written in 1745, was sung.
A performance was acclaimed by 2,000 in attendance at St Paul's Cathedral last night during a service honoring the Queen.
England captain Ben Stokes admitted yesterday that it would be an honor to play in his memory this weekend.
He tweeted: "He loved the sport, it would be an honor to play in his memory."
The 31-year-old followed his words with a heart emoji.
Before playing from today, Stokes told the BBC: "Obviously it's been a sad couple of days not just for us but for the whole nation and the world.
"It's great to be here knowing we're going to be playing this game, not just for ourselves 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 guys were sitting around waiting for that yesterday."
"Once we heard the news, it was good to hear it from our point of view. Not much happened for us yesterday, to be honest."
All advertising for The Oval was removed and replaced with tributes to Her Majesty.
The ECB made the decision to resume play yesterday just hours after the Premier League opted to postpone all matches between September 9-11.
A statement from Prem on Friday read: "At a meeting this morning, the Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"To honor her extraordinary life and her contribution to the nation, and as a show of respect, this weekend's round of Premier League matches will be postponed, including Monday night's match."
They added: "Further updates on Premier League matches during the duel period will be provided in due course."
Following The Oval's rousing rendition of the anthem, Piers Morgan tweeted: "Magnificent. This is exactly how the world of sport should pay its respects to Her Majesty and our new King.
"Ridiculous that football was cancelled."
Yesterday's play was canceled as a show of respect after her death on Thursday at the age of 96.
After consultation with DCMS and in accordance with the Official National Duel Guide, the decision was made to resume play on Saturday morning.
England's third Test against South Africa started late, with the stars wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.
The players entered the field flanked by a military honor guard, before those in attendance at the Oval observed a minute of immaculate silence.
The South African national anthem was then played, before the passionate crowd, led by soprano Laura Wright, sang a rousing rendition of God Save the King.
It was the first sporting occasion since the death of Queen Elizabeth II that this version of the anthem, written in 1745, was sung.
A performance was acclaimed by 2,000 in attendance at St Paul's Cathedral last night during a service honoring the Queen.
England captain Ben Stokes admitted yesterday that it would be an honor to play in his memory this weekend.
He tweeted: "He loved the sport, it would be an honor to play in his memory."
The 31-year-old followed his words with a heart emoji.
Before playing from today, Stokes told the BBC: "Obviously it's been a sad couple of days not just for us but for the whole nation and the world.
"It's great to be here knowing we're going to be playing this game, not just for ourselves 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 guys were sitting around waiting for that yesterday."
"Once we heard the news, it was good to hear it from our point of view. Not much happened for us yesterday, to be honest."
All advertising for The Oval was removed and replaced with tributes to Her Majesty.
The ECB made the decision to resume play yesterday just hours after the Premier League opted to postpone all matches between September 9-11.
A statement from Prem on Friday read: "At a meeting this morning, the Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
"To honor her extraordinary life and her contribution to the nation, and as a show of respect, this weekend's round of Premier League matches will be postponed, including Monday night's match."
They added: "Further updates on Premier League matches during the duel period will be provided in due course."
Following The Oval's rousing rendition of the anthem, Piers Morgan tweeted: "Magnificent. This is exactly how the world of sport should pay its respects to Her Majesty and our new King.
"Ridiculous that football was cancelled."