NZ vs WI 2020: Kemar Roach's father passes away, players wear black armbands for tribute

West Indies pacer Kemar Roach lost his father Andrew Smith on Wednesday, December 2. The right-arm speedster is currently in New Zealand for a two-match Test series. Roach received the news of passing away of his father ahead of the start of the first Test that started on Thursday, December 3.

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NZ vs WI 2020: New Zealand and West Indies players wear black armbands to honour Kemar Roach's father

Despite losing his father, Roach went ahead with the first Test match against the hosts at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday morning. Players from both sides wore black armbands during the Day 1 of the Test match for their Kemar Roach father tribute. West Indies team manager Rawl Lewis issued a statement on behalf of CWI and the team.

Lewis said that on behalf of CWI and the West Indies cricket team, he offers condolences to Roach and his family back home. He added that losing a loved one is never easy and they want to offer their full support to Roach during this very difficult time. Lewis revealed that they got the news as they prepared for the Test match and the players and team support staff all got together and offered tremendous support.

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After the Roach father death news broke, a picture of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson embracing and consoling the Windies pacer went viral. Williamson is known as one of the most gracious players the sport has seen and was named Player of the Tournament at ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England.

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Meanwhile, West Indies captain Jason Holder won an important toss and chose to bowl Thursday on the first day of the first cricket test against New Zealand at Seddon Park. The toss was delayed by two hours because of rain which saturated the playing area. The Kiwis lost debutant Will Young for just 5 runs, however, a 154-run partnership for the second wicket ensured that the hosts' innings was back on track. At Stumps on Day 1, New Zealand scored 243/2 with Williamson batting on 97 and Ross Taylor unbeaten on 31.

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SOURCE: WEST INDIES CRICKET TWITTER