Ben Stokes: "Wearing their names is a real honour, a small sign of our appreciation for the incredible work they have done. They have truly gone in to bat for us all"
Wednesday 8 July 2020 16:21, UK
England paid tribute to key workers by wearing the names of doctors, nurses, teachers and carers on their training shirts ahead of the start of the first #raisethebat Test against West Indies.
Each England player and coach took the field at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday bearing a key worker's name.
Among them was Tom Field, a nurse practitioner who works night shifts at St George's Hospital in south London, who said it was "quite surreal" when he learned his name would be appearing on the back of James Anderson's shirt.
"I didn't really process it at first, it was very strange," Field told the PA news agency. "But as I've found out whose shirt I'm on the back of, and had a little bit of time to process it, honestly it's amazing.
"It's an honour, it's great. And it's so nice of the ECB to be recognising key workers as well."
The key workers were all nominated by their local cricket clubs, in recognition and thanks for their efforts on the front line during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
There are local connections between each player and key worker - Jofra Archer wore the name of Sussex-based paramedic Joe Wheatley, while Nottinghamshire carer Chris Tall was honoured by Stuart Broad.
Stand-in England captain and Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes wore the name of Dr Vikas Kumar, a specialist in anaesthetics and critical care at Darlington Memorial Hospital and also a keen amateur cricketer.
"We're only able to play this Test match because of the amazing job that key workers up and down the country have done to help us through this pandemic," said Stokes.
"Wearing their names is a real honour for us, a small sign of our appreciation for the incredible work they have done.
"They have truly gone in to bat for us all, and it makes me proud of how the whole cricket family has responded to help us get through these unprecedented times."
For Field, who was nominated by his cricket club, Twickenham CC, where he plays and coaches, the occasion was doubly special as he got the opportunity to meet Anderson, via video call, on an appearance on BBC TV.
"It was really nice, and completely surreal for him to be saying my name," Field said. "It was really, really nice - it makes all the hard work worth it."
Like many NHS workers, Field has faced long, draining shifts caring for Covid-19 patients over the course of the pandemic.
He said the hardest aspects of his work have been learning to deal with the complicated and surprising symptoms of a virus that had never been seen before, and the emotional toll it has taken.
"We were at times having quite difficult conversations with people who...were dying, and they were quite aware of that," he said. "That's obviously quite hard to manage."
Field, who is "a big England fan", said the return of cricket to TV screens will "give so many people something to look forward to, which is massive for mental health", while he himself is eager to get back to playing after the Government okayed the return of recreational cricket last week.
"It's been one of the main constants for me in my life," he added. "When I've had a rubbish week at work or we've had a pretty horrific set of cases that week, knowing I can go down on a Saturday and chat with my mates who aren't necessarily in the job I do and play cricket and have a beer after the game is such a release.
"It's the sort of thing that gets me through my weeks in the summer. To know that I can have that back and go and see some of my best mates again and play cricket again, it makes the weeks go a lot quicker."
Each key worker will later receive the shirt bearing their name, also signed by the player or coach who wore it.
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said on the initiative: "Along with fans up and down the country, we are very excited that our England men's players are back on the cricket field. However, we will never forget those we've lost and the sacrifices made by so many people during this pandemic.
"Key workers and volunteers have often put their own lives on the line to keep us safe. It's right that we say a small thank you to some of those who have done us so proud."
The full list of key workers honoured at The Ageas Bowl:
Emily Blakemore, Nurse (Ben Foakes)
Dr Nasir Ali, Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Ollie Robinson)
Joe Wheatley, Paramedic (Jofra Archer)
Ollie Clarke, NHS volunteer (Jack Leach)
Holly Buxton, Organiser of the COVID-19 Community Workforce for the elderly (Olly Stone)
Wendy Morris, Nurse (Dom Bess)
Susan Bainbridge, NEAS Ambulance Volunteer (Mark Wood)
Chris Tall, Care Home Worker (Stuart Broad)
Tom Field, Nurse Practitioner (James Anderson)
Richard Freeman, Police Officer (Dan Lawrence)
Anna Tunnicliff, A&E Sister (Joe Denly)
Debi Armstrong, Specialist Nurse (Zak Crawley)
Dale Hardy, Head Teacher at Sir Robert Pattinson Academy (Craig Overton)
Harikrishna Shah, Clinic Coordinator (James Bracey)
Dr Samara Afzal - Doctor (Chris Woakes)
Dr Vikas Kumar, Specialist in Anaesthetics and Critical Care (Ben Stokes)
Kishan Aghada, Physiotherapist (Saqib Mahmood)
Victor Hinds, Hospital Distribution Officer (Sam Curran)
Yahya Hafejee, Support Leader at Department for Work and Pensions (Ollie Pope)
Sharmyn Kennedy, Teacher (Rory Burns)
Dr Jamasp Kaikhusroo Dastur, Surgeon (Jos Buttler)
Mohammed Banaris, Operations Manager for G4S who ran COVID-19 testing centre (Dom Sibley)
Matthew Rammell, Respiratory Physiotherapist (Chris Silverwood)
Dr Chris Boyson, Doctor (Graham Thorpe)
Chantel Jacklin, Healthcare Assistant (Phil Scott)
