England wearing black armbands: The English players were spotted wearing black armbands over their jerseys in Brisbane today.
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The first day of the ongoing first Ashes 2021-22 Test between Australia and England in Brisbane has witnessed a catastrophic start for the visiting team after their captain Joe Root won the toss and chose to bat.
Leading the bowling attack as he has done on multiple occasions in the past, Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood’s bowling figures of 7-4-3-2 has played a pivotal role in reducing England to 59-4 in 26 overs at the lunch break.
Hazlewood, who shared the new ball with Mitchell Starc, dismissed the likes of Dawid Malan (6) and Root (0) to put England in trouble in the first half an hour or so.
If Starc removing Rory Burns (0) off the first ball of the series was an apt start before Hazlewood was among the wickets, captain Pat Cummins dismissing Ben Stokes (5) was the ideal support manner to support Hazlewood’s brilliance.
Why are England wearing black armbands vs Australia at the Gabba?
In addition to their dismal batting performance alluring limelight, English cricketers also gained attention for donning black armbands at the Gabba today. It is worth mentioning that the same has been done as a mark of tribute for former England bowler Eileen Ash.
Ash, 110, died last week as the oldest-ever Test cricketer. In seven Tests for England between 1937-1949, she had picked 10 wickets at an average of 23 and a strike rate of 59.4. While Ash made her debut against Australia in Northampton, her last Test had come against New Zealand in Auckland.
Bit of chatter on comms about the 568 on Ben Stokes’ black armband. That was his father Ged’s cap number when he represented New Zealand in rugby league in 1982. Ged died a year ago today.
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) December 8, 2021
“Our sport owes so much to its pioneers and Eileen was one of them. I am deeply sad to be saying goodbye to her today. Our thoughts and prayers are with Eileen’s family as they come to terms with losing such a wonderful woman and the end of an astonishing life,” ECB (England Cricket Board) managing director of women’s cricket and the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) president Clare Connor had said in a statement on Ash’s demise.
