Cricket is ready to return in a world of new normals: England vs West Indies kicks off today

England vs West-Indies kicks off today marking the start of cricket in a world characterised by new normals.

Reserve players doing the job of ball boys, cleaning breaks to sanitise stumps and bails, reporters and photographers covering matches in personal protective equipment (PPE) — an unusual Test series between England and the West Indies starts on Wednesday.

In the middle of a pandemic, international cricket will resume at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The Test — and the two that will follow in Manchester later this month — will be played without spectators in a bio-secure environment. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has issued a list of do’s and don’ts in a 74-page booklet that it has sent to Southampton.

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Only the two captains, Ben Stokes and Jason Holder, and match referee Chris Broad will go out for the toss, says the booklet. There will be no cameras at the toss, and no handshakes after.

The two on-field umpires will carry their own balls with breaks in the middle to sanitise the stumps and for general cleaning.

Players can’t share gloves, shirts, water bottles, bags, or sweaters. There will be no ball boys, and ground staff won’t go within 20 metres of the players on the field. Off it, the social distancing rule of two square metres will have to be adhered to.

Team sheets will be digital. Scorers will not share pens and pencils. Accredited personnel will be tracked through a chip-enabled Covid tracker card.

Further, the ICC has put a ban on the use of saliva. In the case of players not following this rule, there will be 2 warnings given after which there will be a 5 run penalty.

The Daily Telegraph reported, quoting Elworthy, the ECB’s events direction saying that the venue will have an inner and an outer zone, and “special isolation units in the ground”. The ICC has approved a Covid substitute, should a player show symptoms. The game will, however, go on.

The players are staying at the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl where, Elworthy has said, room doors can be opened using an app, with no need to touch the handle. There is no room service and no lifts. The teams have been preparing for the series in a bio-secure environment, with regular health checks.

Earlier today, Brian Lara was seen catching up with Sachin Tendulkar in the build-up to the return of cricket in this world of new normals. The conversation was posted by Brian Lara on his twitter handle.