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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

England vs South Africa Test postponed after Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the ECB have announced that day two of the third and final Test between England and South Africa will not take place.

No decision has yet been made about the remaining three days of play, but all scheduled cricket matches on Friday have been postponed.

In a statement, the ECB said: "Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Friday's play between England and South Africa Men at The Oval, along with all scheduled matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, will not take place. For fixtures beyond Friday, updates will be provided in due course."

New ECB chair Richard Thompson paid tribute to The Queen and her support of cricket, saying: "I'm sure I speak for everyone in the game when I say how truly sad I am to hear of the Queen's passing. Her Majesty has been such a great supporter of the game and was always so vocal of her and her late husband's enjoyment around the sport.

"Her dedication to her country will never be forgotten. For her service and her selflessness over her extraordinary reign, we owe her a debt that can never be repaid."

The ECB added that they were "deeply saddened" by her passing, issuing a statement that read: "The Queen and her late husband H.R.H. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, both had a long history of supporting cricket and England's national sides.

"The two were Patrons and honorary life members of the MCC, and showed their support by attending games as often as they could over a 50-year period stretching from the early 1960s through to the first day of the second Ashes Test in 2013. In 1977, the matches making up that year's men's Ashes Series were named the Jubilee Tests to commemorate The Queen's 25th year as monarch.

"Her Majesty opened the ECB National Academy at Loughborough University in November 2004. Today, those facilities continue to be the main training centre for all England players. The following year, she invited both the men's and women's England teams to Buckingham Palace to receive awards recognising their victorious Ashes campaigns.

"Before the 2019 Men's ICC Cricket World Cup, the Queen hosted all 10 competing captains at Buckingham Palace to wish them good luck. She later sent a message of congratulations to the victorious England team after its final victory over New Zealand."

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