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England have gone on ahead in the first Test without Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes.
England's Ben Stokes (R) West Indies' Jason Holder (L) watch the coin toss, won by England, on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, southwest England on July 8, 2020. - England won the toss and opted to bat first. (Photo by Mike Hewitt / POOL / AFP)
In the first Test match between England and West Indies which is being played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, stand-in England skipper Ben Stokes has won the toss and elected to bat first. The series marks the resumption of cricket after the coronavirus enforced break which put a halt to almost all cricketing activities around the world.
All eyes would be on the series to see how cricketers are adapting to the new normal. Notably, the ICC has come up with a new set of guidelines that would be followed in the post corona world to avoid the spread of the dreaded COVID-19. The new regulations include ban on the usage of saliva, restrain from group celebrations and an additional DRS in place.
England have gone on ahead in the first Test without Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes. Meanwhile, West Indies led by Jason Holder has gone ahead with four quicks and Roston Chase as Rahkeem Cornwall misses out.
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The entire first session of Day 1 could not be played because of rain and wet outfield. However, there are still 70 overs left in the day and both teams would be eager to make an early impact in the three-match series.
Playing XIs
England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Denly, Zak Crawley, Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wk), Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
West Indies: John Campbell, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (wk), Jason Holder (c), Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel.
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