Several players were disturbed in the early hours on the eve of the match by an earthquake off the coast of Antigua, where England is staying ahead of the first ODI against the West Indies.
Allrounder Will Jacks did not wake up during the earthquake, which registered 5.2 on the Richter scale 80km to the southeast of the Caribbean island at 4:48 am. However, he revealed several teammates described their rooms shaking in the minutes afterward.
A brief concern arose that the incident could trigger a tsunami, but no damage has been reported.
“I wasn’t woken up,” Jack said. “I woke up around 6 am, saw the messages in the group, and couldn’t believe it.”
“Some guys mentioned that their entire room was shaking, so it’s a bit weird.
“I’m a pretty deep sleeper. I don’t wake up for anything. Harry Brook messaged me, asking, ‘Is there going to be a tsunami?’ But everything is fine now.”
West Indies captain Shai Hope said: “I didn’t wake up, but I felt something. It’s just nature. You can’t control it.
“It’s not like a hurricane where you get some warning, but you just have to hope it’s not too serious.”
The first of three ODIs will occur at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday morning (Monday AEDT).
