SL vs ENG: Why England players are wearing black armbands in first ODI against Sri Lanka?
(Courtesy : Getty Images)
The venue of the first SL vs ENG ODI is R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The white-ball series between Sri Lanka and England commenced on January 22 with the first ODI game. England are scheduled to lock horns with Sri Lanka in three ODIs and three T20Is during the campaign.
The venue for all three ODI games is R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. In the opening game, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won the toss and asked the Harry Brook-led side to field first.
As England players arrived to field, they wore black armbands. The armbands caught the attention of many viewers as they were surprised to know the reason behind the same.
England players are paying tribute to Norman Gifford and David Collier
Notably, England players are paying tribute to former England cricketer Norman Gifford and former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chief Executive David Collier in the match. Hence, they are wearing black armbands.
Gifford passed away a few days ago at the age of 85 due to prolonged illness. He featured in 15 tests between 1964 and 1973 before captaining England at the age of 44. He led the side in two ODIs in 1985. He clinched 33 wickets in 21 innings at an average of 31.09 in the longest format.
He was a left-arm spinner who captained Worcestershire and Warwickshire in England’s first-class cricket. In his three-decade-long career, Gifford picked 2,068 wickets. He retired from domestic cricket at the age of 48.
David Collier, who passed away earlier this month, served as the ECB’s second Chief Executive after succeeding Tim Lamb for the role. He worked with the ECB from 2004 to 2014. Previously, he worked at Essex, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire county clubs.
During Collier’s tenure as the ECB’s Chief Executive, the England Cricket Team won the Ashes four times. ECB also paid condolences to both of them in an official statement.
Why are England players wearing black armbands in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka?
England players are wearing black armbands in the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka as a tribute to former England cricketer Norman Gifford and former ECB chief executive David Collier.
What is the venue of SL vs ENG 1st ODI?
The venue of ENG vs SL 1st ODI is R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
How many ODI games will be played between Sri Lanka and England?
Three ODI games will be played between Sri Lanka and England.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.