England to Wear Black Armband as a Tribute to Late Graham Thorpe During 1st Test vs Sri Lanka
The England cricket team will be wearing black armbands as a tribute to the late Graham Thorpe as they are set to take the field in the series opener of the 3 match Test series against Sri Lanka starting from 21st August, Wednesday from 3:30 P.M Indian Standard Time (IST) at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
Graham Thorpe, a former England batter, passed away on 4th August after taking his own life aged 55. According to reports and close calls, the former England international was deeply affected from depression and anxiety. Graham Thorpe made his England debut in May in the ODI series vs Australia followed the Test series. Thorpe has played 182 international matches for England across ODI and Test and scored over 9000 runs.
Thorpe also worked as one of the leading coaches of the England cricket team. The England international closely worked with the likes of Joe Root, , both of whom will be taking the field in the first Test match of the series vs Sri Lanka with the latter set to captain the team in absence of regular skipper Ben Stokes, who has been left out due to injury.
Meanwhile, the hosts English cricket team comes into this match on the back of a resounding performance in their previous series against West Indies. England thrash the Caribbean in the 3 match Test series to win the series 3-0. On the other hand, Sri Lanka outperformed the World Cup 2023 Finalists at home. Despite losing the T20I series 3-0 to the neighbours, Sri Lanka won the 3 match ODI series 2-0 after the first match ended in a draw.
As part of the series, hosts England will take on Sri Lanka in a 3 match Test series starting from 21st August. The first match of the series will be played at the Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester followed by matches at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London and Kennington Oval, London from 29th August and 6th September respectively.
19:30 IST
