London Traffic Leads To ODI Delay, England Arrive On Cycles For Match Against West Indies
A bizarre delay unfolded ahead of the third and final ODI between England and West Indies at The Oval, London, as the toss was pushed back due to an unusual reasonLondon traffic.
A bizarre delay unfolded ahead of the third and final ODI between England and West Indies at The Oval, London, as the toss was pushed back due to an unusual reason—London traffic. The West Indies team got stuck on their way to the stadium, leading to an empty dressing room and a 40-minute delay. Interestingly, England players avoided the chaos by cycling to the ground, ensuring they arrived on time. Despite the hiccup, no overs were lost, and play began soon after both teams were ready.
Rain was also forecast around the 1:00 PM local time start, but that wasn't the main reason for the delay. It was, in fact, heavy traffic in central London that prevented Shai Hope's side from reaching the venue on time. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the situation, stating that one of the teams was “stuck in heavy traffic north of the river.”
Meanwhile, England players were already warming up on the outfield. In a now-viral clip shared by England Cricket on social media, the team was seen arriving “in style”—on bicycles. “Arriving at the ground in style. Only one way to beat the road closures in London,” read the caption.
Arriving at the ground in style 😎
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 3, 2025
Only one way to beat the road closures in London 😂 pic.twitter.com/2xrSPypnQD
England skipper Harry Brook later explained, “We were on the bus for a while and then we all decided to get off and get on some lime bikes in. We were in a little bit earlier than the West Indies boys, but we are here now ready to go.”
Eventually, the toss took place at 1:10 PM local time. England, already leading 2-0 in the three-match series, elected to bowl first and made no changes to their playing XI. Brook said the team was aiming to be “as dominant as possible” to complete a 3-0 sweep.
"We haven't had a chat yet but it's going to be 'let's try to be as dominant as possible.' We have got an opportunity here to try and win the series 3-0 and we're going to giving it our best crack. There was one area - Root's big score - something we didn't have in the first game which is really nice to see. Hopefully a few other lads can have that as well today. I quite like the balance that we've got, we've got a lot of depth with the bat and that gives us opportunities to chase scores like that down the other day where we had a tough start. We've got a good bowling unit as well," he said.
West Indies made two changes, bringing in Evin Lewis and Shamar Joseph. Captain Shai Hope, eyeing a consolation win, said the team was focused on consistency and clinical execution.
"We were a lot more competitive (in the previous game), the chats that we had before the game, we definitely executed a lot better with both bat and ball. I just want to see the same again today and hopefully we get a win today. A bit more clinical with our tactics, taking each moment as they come, executing those plans and make sure that we have that positive mindset that we always speak about and be as consistent as possible," Hope said.
With England in eighth and West Indies in ninth on the ICC ODI rankings, a win here could prove important for the visitors' hopes of direct qualification for the 2027 World Cup.
Shai Hope
England Cricket Team
West Indies Cricket Team