Cricket players from England and Australia wore black armbands on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test at Birmingham as a mark of respect for the victims of the attack in Nottingham. The players and officials conducted a minute of silence just before the game started. Three people were killed in a horrific stabbing incident, including talented hockey and cricket player and British Indian teen medical student Grace O’Malley Kumar.
The 19-year-old has been officially identified by Nottinghamshire Police as one of the victims of the event that took place in the early hours of Tuesday.
She passed away shortly after her friend Barnaby Webber, age 19, who had also been brutally stabbed, and immediately after that, Ian Coates, age 65, who had also been fatally stabbed in the centre of Nottingham.
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The murder suspect, a 31-year-old male who is considered to be of West African heritage, is still in police custody as counterterrorism officials assist with the investigation.
The Barmy Army, England’s official fan group, will perform a rendition of “Amazing Grace” on Saturday in the 56th over of play.
“In light of the tragic incident in Nottingham this week, we wanted to commemorate Barnaby and Grace who both played cricket,” the Barmy Army tweeted.
https://twitter.com/TheBarmyArmy/status/1669637279130738688
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Toss and team update
Ben Stokes, the captain of England, won the toss and elected to bat first on what seemed to be a belter of a track. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson, as well as Moeen Ali, a spin-bowling all-rounder, were among the players the hosts initially revealed as their starting team on Friday.
On the other side, Australia decided to sit Mitchell Starc in favour of Josh Hazlewood, who was back to full strength. Due to Hazlewood’s side strain, Scott Boland was able to compete in the WTC final. Scott Boland’s nagging line length against India gained everyone’s appreciation.
“We need to rotate our bowlers,” said the Aussie Captain Pat Cummins at the toss. While talking about the playing XI, Cummins said, “It was a really tough call on Mitch, but it’s a nice problem to have with someone like Josh to come in.”
The toss-winning captain, Stokes said, “It looks a really good wicket.” Stokes along with Brendon McCullum’s coaching staff since last year, has 11 victories in 13 Test matches. Stokes further said, “It’s a good toss to win but we’ve got to get some runs on the board now and make the most of it.”
Also Read: What is Bazball? Will it work in the Ashes?
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