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SOUTHAMPTON. — It’s probably a good job that there were no spectators at the Ageas Bowl for the opening day of England’s much delayed and much anticipated cricket season.

If there had been, they would have spent most of the time trying to find shelter from persistent rain that kept the players off the field for all but 17.4 overs.

England were 35-1 at the close.

After 117 days, without any international cricket, and with the eyes of the world fixed on its return here, English drizzle ruined things.

For a number of reasons, this was still a significant day.

Indeed, the most significant moments came before a ball had been bowled.

Sky Sports dedicated more than 20 minutes of their pre-game build-up to the Black Lives Matter campaign, with a powerful pre-recorded segment with Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent followed by unscripted remarks from both of them.

Rainford-Brent broke down as she described the racism she had encountered coming up through the English cricketing ranks on her way to becoming the first black woman to play for England.

Holding, too, was in tears at the end of a four and a half minute long soliloquy following the pre-recorded segment.

There have been iconic moments in cricket commentary history but Holding’s words deserve to be remembered as one of the finest pieces of live broadcasting that the sport has ever seen.

That he did it unscripted was even more remarkable.

“People tell me there is no such thing as white privilege — give me a break,” he said.

“A white person going into a shop is not being followed. A black man goes in, he is followed everywhere he goes. That is basic white privilege.

“Whether the white person is going to rob the place or not, he is not thought of that way. And things have to change.”

The West Indian and English squads followed with their own show of support for the BLM movement.

After a minute’s silence to jointly remember those who have lost their lives during the COVID-19 and the great Sir Everton Weekes, who passed away last week, the players on the field, and the coaches and support staff off it, took a knee.

The West Indies wore one black glove, reminiscent of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the podium at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico.

It was quite a morning.

In the grand scheme of things of course, the lack of play hardly matters and there were, at least, some pleasing signs that things had returned to some normality. There were selection issues to debate — what were England thinking by leaving Stuart Broad and his 485 Test wickets out a home Test for the first time since 2012 — and grievances to air — why can’t play continue with the floodlights on.  — cricbuzz.