Wickets, runs and socially distanced fans — cricket in the coronavirus era

Surrey cricketers Mark Stoneman and Ryan Patel on Sunday experienced something no other sportsmen in England have enjoyed since March when they strode to the wicket at The Oval – applause from a crowd desperate to witness live action in the flesh after the coronavirus lockdown. Stoneman and Patel had 1,000 members — mostly from Surrey but some from rivals Middlesex — to cheer them on a day that even the unpredictable British weather did not…