ENG vs SL: Why are England players wearing black armbands in 1st test against Sri Lanka?

The first ENG vs SL test match started on August 21 in Manchester.

England took on Sri Lanka in the opening fixture of the three-match test series. The first test got underway on August 21 at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester.

England will miss the services of test captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes, who suffered a hamstring injury during the Men’s Hundred tournament. Stokes will be out of the remainder of the English summer following his injury.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Ollie Pope as the stand-in skipper for the Sri Lanka test series. Harry Brook has been named as the deputy to Pope for the three-match series.

England players spotted wearing black armbands during 1st test vs Sri Lanka

England cricketers wore black armbands during the Manchester test vs Sri Lanka to remember former England cricketer Graham Thorpe, who died earlier this month.

Thorpe died by suicide after battling mental health issues and anxiety for more than two years. His wife Amanda had revealed that Thorpe took his own life because of depression.

England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope also confirmed that his side would wear black armbands throughout the first test against Sri Lanka.

“We’ll have our black armbands on throughout the game and there’ll be a tribute to him before. It has hurt a lot of people in that changing room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach. I really admired him,” Pope said ahead of the series opener.

“I remember him saying one thing to me, which was: ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. In a bit of a rut when you’re young, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It shows, for me, what a people’s person he was. He was loved in the changing room. He’s such a sad loss to everyone: to the country, his family, and the boys as well. He’s missed, and we’ll honour him this week,” Pope added.

Both teams’ playing XI for the first test:

England XI: Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir

Sri Lanka XI: Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya De Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Rathnayake

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