Cricket salutes the Queen before historic rendition of God Save the King

The first ball of the final Test between England and South Africa was delivered promptly at 11am, under leaden skies and in an atmosphere rendered sombre by the brief ceremony that preceded it, and a reminder that sometimes there is nothing so eloquent as complete silence.

Unbidden, the crowd at the Kia Oval stood and fell quiet as representatives of the armed forces formed a guard of honour in front of the pavilion in the minutes before play was due to start, and remained hushed as the umpires and players of both sides emerged from their dressing rooms and walked through it before lining up for the anthems.

A beautiful few moments as cricket pays its respects to Her Majesty The Queen. pic.twitter.com/3QnZiFEOKq

The quiet was finally and briefly broken by, ironically, the announcement of a minute’s silence, and then on its completion by the ringing of the bell by a senior NCO of the Irish Guards. The singing of South Africa’s anthem was observed with similar respect before a cathartic rendition of God Save the King (the first time it had been sung at a televised sporting event in 70 years), led by the soprano Laura Wright and accompanied by the rumbling baritone of an overwhelmingly male crowd, feeling their way a little gingerly into its suddenly unfamiliar lyric. And then, as the singer’s final notes faded into silence, an ovation.

It was all very mannered, sometimes a little eerie, but not even the most inveterate cynic could fail to locate the respect and the warmth that ran through the silence, and then the applause.

Less than 24 hours earlier the England and Wales Cricket Board would have felt nervous about their decision to allow play on Saturday, but should be commended and also for organising a ceremony that