The third Test match between England and South Africa will resume on Saturday, the ECB have announced.
The second day's play on Friday was cancelled almost immediately following the death of The Queen, but the ECB have now confirmed that the Test will resume in honour of The Queen. The game will continue as scheduled with three days remaining despite attempts to add an extra day, with South Africa set to fly home on Tuesday before heading to India.
In a statement, the ECB said: "Cricket will resume on Saturday to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and honour her remarkable life and service. Following the cancellation of Friday’s cricket fixtures as a mark of respect on announcement of her death, the England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that play will resume from Saturday including international, domestic, and recreational fixtures.
"The decision has been taken after consultation with DCMS and in line with Official National Mourning guidance. This means the Men’s Test match between England and South Africa will begin at The Oval and the Women’s IT20 match between England and India will also go ahead at the Riverside in Durham.
" The scheduled match between England and Sri Lanka Men’s U19 along with recreational cricket fixtures will also take place as planned. Before each match, a minute’s silence will be observed followed by the national anthem. All players and coaches will wear black armbands. Branded inventory will be replaced with messaging paying cricket's respects to The Queen.
The announcement comes after England Test captain Ben Stokes said he was keen to play in honour of The Queen. Stokes tweeted: "She loved sport, be honoured to play in her memory".
New ECB chair Richard Thompson paid tribute to The Queen for her "selflessness over her extraordinary reign" and her support of cricket. He said: "I'm sure I speak for everyone in the game when I say how truly sad I am to hear of the Queen's passing.
"Her Majesty has been such a great supporter of the game and was always so vocal of her and her late husband's enjoyment around the sport.
"Her dedication to her country will never be forgotten. For her service and her selflessness over her extraordinary reign, we owe her a debt that can never be repaid."
