England vs West Indies: Crowd noise to be played to create a competitive ambience

Cricket is set to resume after a wait of 117 days, albeit under new circumstances. While the matches will happen in biosecure conditions, players will also be devoid of the support of their fans.

Thus to provide a competitive environment and fill in the void, a simulated crowd noise and music will be played during the fixture.

This will also result in fans having a real life stadium experience while sitting in front of their screens at home.

The broadcasters would be monitoring and controlling the stump mics as well in the absence of any crowd noises at the stadium.

Since the crowds are not going to be a part of the Test series for safety purposes, in their absence, organisers are looking at different creative options to improve the match experience for players in empty stadiums.

As a solution, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket West Indies have reportedly agreed upon playing the sound clips from past matches to bring some kind of normalcy during the series. The choice of sounds and noises which are to be played would be together decided by both the teams.

Players have also admitted that playing in empty stadiums would be different as they thrive on the energy from the crowd. In the absence of the crowd, there can be a lack of zeal and competitive spirit among the players on the match field.

There game of cricket has hit the pause button for the past four months due to the coronavirus outbreak. The West Indies tour of England will mark the return of cricket amidst the pandemic.

England is scheduled to face West Indies for the historic three-match Test series from July 8 to July 28. The inaugural match will be held at Ageas Bowl, Southampton from Wednesday, July 8.