The Ashes: England-Australia players wear 'Black arm-bands' on day 1 for a humble reason

Why You Are Reading This: The English cricket team is all set to face Australia from June 16 onwards, in a bid to win their first Ashes series since 2015. The Ashes 2023 series will kick off on Friday with the series opener at Edgbaston. The English and Australian players will be seen wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the Edgbaston Test.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Ashes 2023 series will be the first Ashes for Ben Stokes as England’s captain
• Australia head into the match as the new ICC World Test Champions
• Ashes 2023 will mark the beginning of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle

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England vs Australia: Why are the players wearing black armbands in Edgbaston?

Marking their respect for the horrific Nottingham murders, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that players will be wearing black armbands on their sleeves on Day 1 of the first Ashes 2023 Test in Edgbaston. A moment of silence will also be observed at Edgbaston before the scheduled start of the game at 11 a.m. local time/3:30 p.m. IST. Here’s all we know about the Nottingham murders.

On Tuesday early morning, a knife assailant stabbed two college students and a middle-aged man to death in Nottingham. Both the students were 19 years old and were identified as Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber. Whereas the third individual who lost his life was a middle-aged man Ian Coates, who was a school caretaker.

Ben Stokes opens up on gruesome Nottingham murders

As per INDEPENDENT, England cricket team skipper, Ben Stokes shed his heartfelt thoughts on the gruesome murders and said, “The deeply distressing scenes witnessed in Nottingham this week have brought immense sorrow to everyone, particularly the cherished friends and families of the victims. It is impossible to express how much their lives and futures have been tragically disrupted”.

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“These events sadden the England cricket teams, and we are thinking about those affected at this harrowing time. As a gesture of respect, we will honour them by wearing black armbands,” Stokes added. As reported by AP, the assailant stabbed the two college students to death, then fatally stabbed Ian and ran over three pedestrians, causing a shocking rampage.