International Cricket is set to begin from Wednesday with the first match of a 3 test series between England and West Indies.
This can clearly be called a new era of cricket as there will be no spectators in the stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Crowd energy in the stadium was one of the key factors in the gentlemen's game of sports which will be missing now. Matches will telecast live on TV screens.
Through this match, International Cricket is resuming after 116 days of unwanted break. The last international cricket match played was an ODI between Australia and New Zealand on March 13. Since then due to Covid-19 pandemic, all matches across the globe were shelved. These matches have a huge responsibility to make way for future cricket matches. If something goes wrong during these matches, it will affect the possibilities of future matches.
“If you get one thing wrong, it might blow this whole 'getting sport back onto the radar' further back,” said England stand-in captain Ben Stokes on Tuesday.
"We can't use no crowd as an excuse to not feel up for this game because we know we have hundreds of thousands of people following us and wanting us to do well back home watching us on TV."
"I know everybody has been craving this, certainly from a players' point of view but I also think from a spectators' and fans' view," said Stokes on Tuesday. "This is a massive occasion for a lot of people."
Meanwhile, West Indies coach Phil Simmons praised English administrators for staging the series. Both teams are living and playing at bio-secure grounds, which have on-site hotels while being subject to a twice-weekly testing regime and numerous social-distancing measures.
"We're about to show that other places can start putting things together. The England and Wales Cricket Board have to be commended for all the work they have done to get the series on the road and let's see what other countries take from it."Simmson added.