Sign of the times
Laura Wright, last seen by England fans faultlessly executing the nation’s first major public rendition of God Save the King at last year’s Test against South Africa at the Oval, was back on anthem duties, only this time she was not only singing them but signing them, with backing signals from the Knotty Ash Signing Choir and the Liverpool Signing Choir. For the first time the entire build-up to an England Test was signed, with the toss and captains’ interviews accompanied on the big screens (this is being seen as a pilot and will be repeated on the first day of the women’s Test at Trent Bridge, while two members of the England team who brought home the Deaf Ashes last year have pre-recorded toss results to use across the summer). The interpretation of the loud cheer that followed England winning the toss and choosing to bat thus became the day’s first, but certainly not the last, double fist-pump.
