ENGLAND cricketers sang a chilling first televised performance of "God Save the King" before a sporting event in the 70 years since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.<br /><br />Yesterday's play was canceled as a show of respect after her death on Thursday at the age of 96.<br /><br />After consultation with DCMS and in accordance with the Official National Duel Guide, the decision was made to resume play on Saturday morning.<br /><br />England's third Test against South Africa started late, with the stars wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.<br /><br />The players entered the field flanked by a military honor guard, before those in attendance at the Oval observed a minute of immaculate silence.<br /><br />The South African national anthem was then played, before the passionate crowd, led by soprano Laura Wright, sang a rousing rendition of God Save the King.<br /><br />It was the first sporting occasion since the death of Queen Elizabeth II that this version of the anthem, written in 1745, was sung.<br /><br />A performance was acclaimed by 2,000 in attendance at St Paul's Cathedral last night during a service honoring the Queen.<br /><br />England captain Ben Stokes admitted yesterday that it would be an honor to play in his memory this weekend.<br /><br />He tweeted: "He loved the sport, it would be an honor to play in his memory."<br /><br />The 31-year-old followed his words with a heart emoji.<br /><br />Before playing from today, Stokes told the BBC: "Obviously it's been a sad couple of days not just for us but for the whole nation and the world.<br /><br />"It's great to be here knowing we're going to be playing this game, not just for ourselves but in memory of the Queen, so it's a very special occasion for us.<br /><br />"We were still waiting for confirmation of what was going to happen this week, so the guys were sitting around waiting for that yesterday."<br /><br />"Once we heard the news, it was good to hear it from our point of view. Not much happened for us yesterday, to be honest."<br /><br />All advertising for The Oval was removed and replaced with tributes to Her Majesty.<br /><br />The ECB made the decision to resume play yesterday just hours after the Premier League opted to postpone all matches between September 9-11.<br /><br />A statement from Prem on Friday read: "At a meeting this morning, the Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.<br /><br />"To honor her extraordinary life and her contribution to the nation, and as a show of respect, this weekend's round of Premier League matches will be postponed, including Monday night's match."<br /><br />They added: "Further updates on Premier League matches during the duel period will be provided in due course."<br /><br />Following The Oval's rousing rendition of the anthem, Piers Morgan tweeted: "Magnificent. This is exactly how the world of sport should pay its respects to Her Majesty and our new King.<br /><br />"Ridiculous that football was cancelled."
