England’s third ODI against the West Indies was delayed due to traffic problems, leading to farcical scenes across London.
The home side have won the series ahead of the third and final game, with action at The Oval today meant to start at 1pm.
But it was delayed to 1:30pm with the West Indies stuck in heavy traffic north of the River Thames.
As a result, the toss was pushed back to 1:10pm, and the match was scheduled to get going 20 minutes later, weather permitting.
No overs have been lost, with the game now expected to finish at 9pm.
Meanwhile, England were forced to use Lime Bikes to arrive at the ground due to roads being closed nearby.
In a statement, Surrey County Cricket Club, The Oval’s home team, confirmed why the game was being delayed.
It read: “Due to a delayed arrival of one of the playing teams, who are stuck in heavy traffic north of the river, the scheduled start of play will be delayed.
“Once all members of the playing teams arrive, the match officials will coordinate updated timings and discuss any impact on the schedule of play.
“We will update spectators with the schedule of play as soon as we are able to.”
This is the final ODI of the series, and England are looking to give new captain Harry Brook a perfect 3-0 whitewash.
But their preparations weren’t ideal as the England players found themselves stuck on a bus for a long period of time going nowhere.
As a result, they decided to get off and hire Lime Bikes to cycle to the ground.
Speaking at the toss, captain Brook said: “We were on the bus for a while, and we all decided to get off and get on some Lime Bikes, so we were in a little bit earlier than the West Indies boys.”
Meanwhile, the Windies were stuck on their coach for around two hours as it crawled through London.
They arrived at the ground much later than their opponents, and the skipper Shai Hope thinks they should have done something else.
Also speaking to Michael Atherton at the toss, he said: “We probably should have walked.”
England also won the toss and elected to bowl under grey skies in south London.
Brook has named an unchanged side from the win in Cardiff in which Joe Root became England’s record all-time ODI run scorer.
He surpassed former World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan as his return to this format continues to go well.
Meanwhile, the Windies have made three changes.
Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford and Shamar Joseph come into the side with Jewel Andrew, Shimron Hetymer and Matthew Forde making way.
Once this ODI series is complete, England will take on the West Indies in three T20 games, which will start on Friday.
