Published 13:27 IST, December 3rd 2020
NZ vs WI 2020: Kemar Roach's father passes away, players wear black armbands for tribute
NZ vs WI 2020: West Indies pacer Kemar Roach, who is currently in New Zealand for a two-match Test series, lost his father, Andrew Smith on Wednesday, Dec 2.
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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.
CWI extends deepest condolences to Kemar Roach and his family on the passing of his father.
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) December 3, 2020
Both the #MenInMaroon and the @BLACKCAPS teams wore black armbands on the opening day of the 1st Test in his honour.
More here⬇️https://t.co/qG8GtiO7h4 pic.twitter.com/nIwjfl3vq7
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.
Kemar Roach lost his father recently. Even more respect for Kane Williamson for this show of support.#NZvWI #NZvsWI pic.twitter.com/wiMsTIeueq
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog) December 3, 2020
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.
SOURCE: WEST INDIES CRICKET TWITTER
13:27 IST, December 3rd 2020