Poms’ paying tributes to key field workers ahead of West Indies Test
Pic: ECB
|| Desk Report ||
England’s cricketers are going to wear the key workers’ names on the back of their training shirts as a part of paying tributes to them for their efforts in fighting the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the much-anticipated West Indies Test series.
Both England and the West Indies are going to face each other behind a closed-door Test match at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton today.
It will be the first of the three-match Test series England are going to host West Indies and through this match, cricket is going to resume with new normal rules in the midst of the corona pandemic across the world.
The signed shirts will be given by a range of teachers, doctors, nurses and carers by the local cricket clubs afterwards as a thank you.
With the regular skipper Joe Root missing the first Test because of the birth of his second child, mercurial all-rounder Ben Stokes will be seen leading the side.
“We’re only able to play this Test match because of the amazing job that key workers up and down the country have done to help us through this pandemic,” Ben Stokes said.
“Wearing their names is a real honour for us, and is a small sign of our appreciation for the incredible work they have done. They’ve truly gone in to bat for us all, and it makes me proud of how the whole cricket family has responded to help us get through these unprecedented times,” Stokes added.
Dr Vikas Kumar name will be seen behind Stokes back who is a specialist in aesthetics and critical care at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
“The past four months have been very difficult, but it was a wonderful surprise to find out that Ben Stokes of all people is wearing my name on his training shirt,” Dr. Kumar said.
“So many of my colleagues at work and at the cricket club have been working so hard and made big sacrifices, so this is for them as well.”
The list of key workers
Ben Foakes – Emily Blakemore, Nurse
Olly Robinson – Dr Nasir Ali, Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Jofra Archer – Joe Wheatley, Paramedic
Jack Leach – Ollie Clarke, NHS volunteer
Olly Stone – Holly Buxton, Organiser of the COVID-19 Community Workforce for the elderly
Dominic Bess – Wendy Morris, Nurse
Mark Wood – Susan Bainbridge, NEAS Ambulance Volunteer
Stuart Broad – Chris Tall , Care Home Worker
James Anderson – Tom Field, Nurse Practitioner
Dan Lawrence – Richard Freeman, Police Officer
Joe Denly – Anna Tunnicliff, A&E Sister
Zak Crawley – Debi Armstrong, Specialist Nurse
Craig Overton – Dale Hardy, Head Teacher at Sir Robert Pattinson Academy
James Bracey – Harikrishna Shah, Clinic Coordinator
Chris Woakes – Dr Samara Afzal – Doctor
Ben Stokes – Dr Vikas Kumar, Specialist in Anaesthetics and Critical Care
Saqib Mahmood – Kishan Aghada, Physiotherapist
Sam Curran – Victor Hinds, Hospital Distribution Officer
Ollie Pope – Yahya Hafejee, Support Leader at Department for Work and Pensions
Rory Burns – Sharmyn Kennedy, Teacher
Jos Buttler – Dr Jamasp Kaikhusroo Dastur, Surgeon
Dom Sibley – Mohammed Banaris, Operations Manager for G4S and ran COVID-19 testing centre
Chris Silverwood – Matthew Rammell, Respiratory Physiotherapist
Graham Thorpe – Dr Chris Boyson, Doctor
Phil Scott – Chantel Jacklin, Healthcare Assistant
