Ashes 2023: Players to wear black armbands, observe silence in honour of Nottingham attack victims

England's men's and women's players will wear black armbands on Day One of their Test matchagainst Australia this month as a tribute to victims of a stabbing and van attack in the English city of Nottingham, the country's cricket board (ECB) said on Thursday.

A minute's silence will be observed before the men's opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Friday, as well as the women's one-off test against Australia in Nottingham from June 22-26.

"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 men's test captain Ben Stokes said. "It is impossible to express how much their lives and futures have been tragically disrupted."

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"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 honour them by wearing black armbands."

Three people died and another was left in a critical condition after the attack. One of the teenage victims, Grace Kumar, had played hockey for England's Under-18 team and cricket for Woodford Wells Cricket Club and her fellow student Barnaby Webber was said to be a keen cricketer.

ALSO READ:Ashes 2023, 1st Test, England vs Australia - Preview and Result Prediction

"It was incredibly saddening to learn about the events that took place in Nottingham, and it felt a bit closer to home to learn that two of the victims had been cricket players," England women's captain Heather Knight said.

Ashes begins Friday

England and Australia gear up for the iconic Ashes, with the hosts waiting to stamp authority on their Aussie counterparts. With England already announcing their XI ahead of the first day's play, it reflects their confidence in Bazball - an attacking brand of cricket that had put the cricketing world on notice.

Meanwhile, Australia is undecided on whom to pick between Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood for that one spot. While Hazlewood was rested for the recently-contested WTC Final against India on precautionary grounds and remains the frontrunner to return to XI on experience, Boland's latest run of form will make it incredibly hard for captain Cummins to drop him.

Here is England's confirmed Playing XI for the first Ashes Test -

Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson

Here is Australia's Predicted XI for the first Ashes Test -

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon

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