THE CRICKET Test match between England and South Africa will resume play on Saturday and pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Friday’s cricket fixtures were cancelled as a mark of respect on announcement of her death aged 96.
England’s Test match against South Africa will take place on Saturday
The decision to allow international, domestic, and recreational fixtures to take place has been taken after consultation with DCMS and in line with Official National Mourning guidance.
England‘s Test match against South Africa will begin at The Oval on Saturday and the Women’s IT20 match between England and India will also go ahead at the Riverside in Durham.
It has also been confirmed before each match, a minute’s silence will be observed followed by the national anthem.
Players and coaches will also wear black armbands as a sign of respect.
“Branded inventory” will be replaced with messaging paying cricket’s respects to The Queen.
England captain Ben Stokes expressed his desire to “play in her memory”.
Stokes, responding to footballer Darren Huckerby’s question about whether sporting events should go ahead, tweeted: “She loved sport, [I would] be honoured to play in her memory.”
Rugby Union will also go ahead this weekend.
In an official statement, the RFU said fixtures will go ahead “to be united in our grief as we express sorrow at her passing”.
Football, however, has decided to postpone fixtures.
A Premier League statement said: “At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
“To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game.”
They added: “Further updates regarding Premier League fixtures during the period of mourning will be provided in due course.”
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.
“As our longest-serving monarch, she has been an inspiration and leaves behind an incredible legacy following a life of dedication.
“This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”
Meanwhile an EFL statement said: “Further to discussions on Friday morning it has been determined that all EFL fixtures from 9-10 September will be postponed as a mark of respect by the National Sport to the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
“This is aligned with the approach that the Premier League and the FA will take with their competitions this weekend.
“Further information, in respect of how football, Clubs and their supporters will commemorate Her Majesty’s reign will be confirmed at an appropriate point.
“Details regarding rearranged games will be announced in due course.”
Confirming the entire English football pyramid will come to a halt this weekend, the FA said: “Her Majesty the Queen was a long-standing patron of the Football Association and has left a lasting and indelible legacy on our national game.
“As a mark of respect, following the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, English football has united to postpone all football fixtures between 9-11 September.”
“The FA can confirm that all football fixtures across the Barclays Women’s Super League, Barclays Women’s Championship, the Vitality Women’s FA Cup, and the Isuzu FA Trophy, will be postponed this weekend.
“We can also confirm that all football fixtures across the National League System [NLS], Steps 1-6, including the Vanarama National Leagues, the Women’s Football Pyramid [WFP], Tiers 3-7, and matches across grassroots football in England will be postponed.
“The Premier League and the EFL have all confirmed that their fixtures this weekend will be rescheduled for a later date.
“All flags at Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park will continue to fly at half-mast over the weekend.
“Our thoughts remain with our president, HRH The Duke of Cambridge, and the whole of the Royal Family during this time.”
But the Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League will still go ahead as English teams would forfeit any matches they fail to take part in.
