Cricket must act to combat heat – and sooner than had been expected | Tanya Aldred

Record temperatures left players and spectators struggling to cope in England last week, and the game needs global solutions

After all the jokes about climate breakdown warming up the chilly north of England – suddenly it wasn’t so funny any more. A young Durham bowler being forced off the field at the Riverside by the fierce heat on his ODI debut wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card, but that was Matthew Potts’s lot on Tuesday – as the UK spoiled and burned under its hottest day in history.

Potts managed four overs before he left the field as the mercury hit 37C at Chester-le-Street in the first ODI between England and South Africa – hoping to return, but not, apart from a brief innings of four balls in the game’s dying moments. In order to keep the show on the road, the players were offered regular drinks breaks, accompanied by wet towels, ice packs and parasols. Off the field, it was a similar story.