Why Australian team wearing black armbands today: Why are Australian cricketers wearing black armbands vs Sri Lanka in Colombo T20I?

Why Australian team wearing black armbands: Australian cricketers are donning black armbands in the ongoing first T20I.

During the first T20I of the ongoing Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Australia speedster Josh Hazlewood put an end to a potentially dangerous 39-run opening partnership between Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka (26) after captain Aaron Finch won the toss and chose to field.

It all happened on the second delivery of the fifth over when Gunathilaka found a lone boundary rider in Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh at deep point.

Wanting to hit Hazlewood for a second consecutive boundary, Gunathilaka couldn’t manage to find a gap resulting in his dismissal after hitting three fours and a six at a strike rate of 173.33.

The crowd noise in Colombo is phenomenal. It’s been incredibly sad watching the news out of Sri Lanka in recent months, and it’s a small thing in the wider context, but I hope everyone there has a brilliant night full of joy. #SLvAUS

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) June 7, 2022

Why Australian team wearing black armbands vs Sri Lanka today?

As most of the fans must have noticed by now, Australian cricketers are wearing black armbands at the R Premdasa Stadium tonight. It is worth mentioning that the same has been done as a mark of respect and tribute towards former Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

Symonds, 46, died at the scene after being a lone occupant in a single-vehicle car crash near Townsville last month. Tonight is the first time when Australia are playing international cricket since Symonds’ unfortunate and shocking demise.

Symonds, who played 238 matches across formats between 1998-2009 for Australia, will be primarily remembered as a dual World Cup-winner due to his involvement in the 2003 and 2007 Australian squad. An outright entertainer on a cricket ground, Symonds left behind a family of three including wife Laura, son Billy and daughter Chloe.

The tragic incident had invited reactions from former cricketer such as Adam Gilchrist, Shane Watson, Brian Lara and many others.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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