International cricket returned Wednesday after a four-month absence with England and the West Indies managing just 82 minutes of play in a rain-hit opening day of the first test that started with players taking a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
England was 35-1 at stumps having faced only 17.4 overs because of light but intermittent rain at Southampton’s Rose Bowl, where there were no spectators for a match being played in an isolated environment because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rory Burns was 20 not out and Joe Denly was unbeaten on 14, with Dom Sibley the man out bowled by Shannon Gabriel off the 10th delivery of the day.
Moments before the first ball was bowled, West Indies’ fielding players knelt in the outfield while their England counterparts did the same around the boundary edge in support a movement that has grown since the killing of George Floyd in the United States in May.
A Black Lives Matter logo also was on the collar of the test shirts worn by players from both teams. The kneeling gesture has been made before Premier League matches since the resumption of soccer in England last month.