Match delayed as England cricketers ride lime bikes to the stadium in London traffic chaos
The final One Day International between England and the West Indies got off to a late start after traffic congestion in London caused chaos to the teams' travel plans.
Both sides got stuck on their team buses en route to The Oval in south London on Tuesday, with England's players deciding to get off and ride bikes to the ground instead.
Traffic-light failures in the Vauxhall area of London, about 15 minutes from The Oval, were reportedly to blame for the chaos.
While they arrived in enough time to conduct a thorough pre-match warm-up under a grey sky, the West Indies players stayed on their bus and arrived at around 12:40 p.m. local time — 10 minutes after the scheduled time for the toss.
'We probably should have walked,' West Indies captain Shai Hope said, laughing.
Uncertainty permeated the ground as England players quite laughably warmed up with no opposition in sight for some time, like a scene out of a junior cricket match.
'The toss has been delayed because, basically, we don't have two teams, would you believe it,' Ian Ward explained pre-game.
'We have an England cricket team — we do not have a West Indies cricket team. The traffic in and around The Oval ... all around, is absolutely gridlock.'
West Indies stayed overnight at a hotel some five kilometres from The Oval, Britain's PA news agency reported.
The toss was delayed by 40 minutes and was won by England, who chose to bowl first in an attempt to take advantage of overcast conditions.
The ECB released a statement while waiting for the West Indies to arrive.
'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,' the statement read.
'Once all members of the playing teams arrive, the match officials will co-ordinate updated timings and discuss any impact on the schedule of play.'
The match started 30 minutes late.
England had already clinched the three-match series after wins in Birmingham and Cardiff.
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