QUEEN SEPTEMBER 11 2022

Wearing black armbands, Test cricketers from England and South Africa held a minute's silence before a bell was chimed once by a high-ranking member of the military at the Oval.

Over to the west of London, golfers paused their rounds and other pros, officials and caddies gathered on the putting green in front of the first tee at Wentworth to hold a two-minute silence, also impeccably observed.

There were moving and respectful tributes to Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday as sports resumed in Britain following a nationwide shutdown the previous day as a mark of respect for the monarch of more than 70 years who died, aged 96, on Thursday.

Professional and grassroots soccer -- including the Premier League -- decided to call off all matches this weekend to give an opportunity for participants to mourn the queen's passing.

International cricket and golf returned, though, as did English domestic rugby, on the back of guidance from the government that there was no obligation on sports organisations to cancel or reschedule events during the nation's period of mourning.

The 10 minutes before the start of play in the third and deciding cricket test between England and South Africa were dedicated to paying tribute to the Queen.

Military walked onto the field of play at the Oval in south London to form a guard of honour, through which the teams walked and lined up either side of the wicket.

Following the minute's silence and the one bell chime, the anthems of both South Africa and England were sung by English soprano Laura Wright.

After seven decades of the English anthem "God Save the Queen," now it was an emotionally-charged rendition of "God Save the King" rippling around the ground.

Hours earlier on Saturday, King Charles III had officially been announced as Britain's monarch in a ceremony.

The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was stopped near the end of the first round on Thursday following the announcement of the Queen's death -- there had been still 30 players out on the course -- and there was no play on Friday.

Play restarted at 6:40am on Saturday, with the tournament having been reduced to 54 holes.

The proclamation of King Charles III was shown on the television screens in the Championship Village after the two-minute period of silence took place at 9:50am.

The European tour's chief executive, Keith Pelley, said he spoke with officials from the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday.

He said they agreed that "bringing people together at this particular time, having both had the honour and respect of the day of cancellation on Friday, was the right decision."

"I have heard from so many players that want to honour Her Majesty," Pelley said, "and felt that playing was the right way to do it."

The decision of soccer to cancel games has proved to be divisive, with some feeling the game had missed a chance to honour the Queen in the way other sports have.

"I know it's only a game and some things are much bigger," former ngland striker Peter Crouch tweeted, "but imagine all our games went ahead this weekend.

"Black armbands, silences observed, national anthem, Royal band playing etc to the millions around the world watching?

"Isn't that a better send off?"

Horse racing -- the Queen's favourite sport -- will resume on Sunday, when the St Leger flat-racing classic takes place in Doncaster but there will be no meetings on September 19, the day of the Queen's funeral.

© AP 2022

Image: Michael Garnett/Flickr

prince charles september 11 2022

SUNDAY

* A Proclamation of the King ceremony will be held outside Parliament House in Canberra after 11am, followed by a 21-gun salute.

* A NSW proclamation ceremony will take place at Parliament House in Sydney from 12.30pm. Public transport across NSW is free.

* A South Australian proclamation ceremony will take place at 2pm outside state parliament. Public transport across Adelaide will be free.

* A Queensland proclamation ceremony will take place at 1pm at Government House (Fernberg).

* A wreath-laying event will take place in Tasmania ahead of the proclamation being published in a special gazette on Monday.

* A minute's silence is being observed ahead of sporting matches.

* Sunday Anglican church services will mark the Queen's life. At St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, a 6pm service will be led by Archbishop Philip Freier and streamed online.

THE WEEKS AHEAD

* There is no official mourning period in Australia, but the prime minister has suspended parliament for at least 15 days.

* The Victorian parliament will sit briefly on Tuesday for MPs to swear allegiance to King Charles III - the only state where this is required after the death of a monarch - and move a condolence motion before adjourning to a later date.

* The NSW and WA parliaments will also briefly convene on Tuesday to hear condolences. Parliamentary sittings in both states are due to resume on September 20.

* The Queensland state parliament, which was due to sit next week, will be adjourned until a later date.

* The federal, state and territory governments have set up condolence books across the country. People can also sign online condolence books on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and governor-general's websites.

* People are encouraged to leave flowers outside Parliament House and Government House in Canberra, as well as government houses in each state and territory.

* The royal family has flagged Australians can also donate to charity instead of leaving flowers.

* Australian flags will be flown at half mast until the day after the Queen's funeral in the UK. There is one exception: Flags will be raised to full mast on Sunday when Charles is proclaimed King.

* A national day of mourning and memorial service will be held in Australia, but the date has not been confirmed.

* Eight days after the Queen's death, the prime minister, governor-general and acting high commissioner will attend Westminster Hall for the Queen's lying in state and meet with King Charles III.

© AAP 2022

Image: Dan Marsh/Flickr

 

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Aaron Finch plans to fight on into next month's Twenty20 World Cup, despite the white-ball captain announcing his retirement from one-day cricket.

Out of form and with his spot in the side in doubt, Finch confirmed Sunday's ODI against New Zealand would be his last in the format for Australia.

However he still intends to lead Australia's charge in the T20 format, with Cricket Australia confirming he plans to lead the country in next month's world title defence.

"It has been a fantastic ride with some incredible memories," Finch said.

"I have been extremely fortunate to be a part of some brilliant one-day sides. Equally, I have been blessed by all those I have played with and the many people behind the scenes.

"It is time now to give a new leader the best possible opportunity to prepare for and win the next World Cup.

"I thank all of those who have helped and supported my journey to this point."

Australia's leader since 2020, Finch has played 145 matches - 54 as captain.

One of the most damaging opening batters in the world when at his best, he has made over 5000 runs in the format and averaged close to 40.

But those numbers have taken a significant hit in recent years, averaging 14.6 in 2022 while failing to pass 20 in his last seven innings.

Ultimately, his call to retire came after his fifth duck across all formats this year.

He debuted against Sri Lanka in 2013 with his 17 centuries fourth only to Ricky Ponting, David Warner and Mark Waugh in one-day cricket for Australia.

The right-hander played a key part in Australia's 2015 one-day World Cup success before leading the team to the semi-finals in the 2019 tournament.

Finch's decision leaves Australia searching for a new one-day captain ahead of next year's World Cup, with Test skipper Pat Cummins previously indicating he does not want to lead the side.

"On behalf of Australian Cricket, I would like to congratulate Aaron on his vast contribution as captain of the Australian men's ODI team and as a wonderful exponent of the 50-over format," Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said.

"Aaron is an enormously gifted and determined player whose outstanding deeds with the bat have been matched by his strong and inspiring leadership.

"His decision to step aside from the ODI captaincy now is typical of his selfless approach to the game.

"I'm delighted Aaron will lead the Australian team into the forthcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup where his leadership, experience and tactical nous will be integral to the defence of our T20 World Cup title on home soil."

© AAP 2022

Image: www.davidmolloyphotography.com, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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King Charles has described the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth as the moment he had "been dreading" in an exchange with Prime Minister Liz Truss which was picked up by television cameras.

The prime minister's first meeting with the new monarch came after Charles returned to London, from Scotland, to cheering crowds outside Buckingham Palace who had come to pay their respects to the Queen.

"The moment I've been dreading, as I know a lot of people have," Charles was heard saying to the prime minister as they met in the audience room at Buckingham Palace.

Earlier, Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, spent more than 10 minutes shaking hands with dozens of well-wishers and looking at floral tributes outside the palace after getting out of their car for an impromptu walkabout.

"We mustn't take up too much of your time," Charles said to Truss, who only took office herself on Tuesday.

"It has been so touching this afternoon when we arrived, all those people who had come to give their condolences ... and flowers," he added as the prime minister also offered her condolences.

The meeting took place ahead of a televised address by Charles to the nation, in which he pledged to follow the example of his mother in devoting himself to duty.

© RAW 2022

Image: Royal Family Facebook