Why Are West Indies Wearing Black Armbands: Why Is West Indian Cricket Team Wearing Black Armbands Today 2023?

West Indies all-rounder Kyle Mayers and batter Johnson Charles have entered a boundary-hitting spree to lay a solid foundation for the others to follow in the second T20I of their ongoing tour of South Africa in Centurion today.

West Indies were put in to bat first by South Africa captain Aiden Markram at the toss in a tit for tat arrangement in an afternoon match by South African time.

One of the heroes from a 3-wicket West Indian victory at the same venue yesterday, opening batter Brandon King (1) lasted for all of two deliveries as he edged a Wayne Parnell delivery to Reeza Hendricks at first slip in the first over itself.

That being said, Mayers and Charles appeared to be caring less about the fall of an early wicket. Having missed a flick on the first ball that he faced, Charles hit Parnell for consecutive fours in the same over to clear his intentions.

While Mayers also hit his first boundary in Parnell’s following over, Charles hit two more fours in the third over to make the most of fielding restrictions. Not showing any signs of slowing down, the right-handed batter welcomed South Africa all-rounder Marco Jansen into the attack by hitting two fours and sixes each in the penultimate over of the powerplay.

Left-handed Mayers also joined the party by hitting four fours and a couple of sixes in the next two overs. While both the batters hit a six each off Tabraiz Shamsi’s first over, Charles was able to register a hard-hitting 23-ball T20I half-century in the same over.

Why are West Indies Wearing Black Armbands vs South Africa today?

All the three West Indian batters were spotted wearing black armbands at the SuperSport Park today. As was the case with the home team in the third ODI in Potchefstroom on Tuesday, West Indian cricketers are donning black armbands on Sunday to express a tribute and mark of respect towards Brandon King’s uncle Garth King.

While the exact cause of death remains unknown, Windies Cricket confirmed the same via a tweet after the start of their penultimate match of the tour.