The Ashes is perhaps the most iconic Test Series in cricket history, competed between England and Australia. The first test of the 2023 Ashes Test series began on June 16, Friday, at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Interestingly, both England and Australian players are wearing black armbands in the opening match.
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They are doing so to pay their respects to the victims of a brutal stabbing spree in Nottingham. Before the match started, both sets of players observed a minute of silence to pay their respects to the lives lost and the lives affected.
“The deeply distressing scenes witnessed in Nottingham this week have brought immense sorrow to everyone, particularly the cherished friends and families of the victims,” England captain Ben Stokes said on Thursday.
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“It is impossible to express how much their lives and futures have been tragically disrupted. 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 honor them by wearing black armbands”, Stokes added.
Three people were killed, and one was injured in an attack in Nottingham. One of the victims was 19-year-old Grace Kumar. The teenager played hockey for England’s Under-18 team and cricket for Woodford Wells Cricket Club. Her colleague Barnaby Webber (also 19), a cricketer, sadly lost his life in the same encounter. The third person who lost his life was 65-year-old Ian Coates, a caretaker at the Huntingdon Academy in Nottingham.
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