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The Hindu
6 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: Why are India and England players wearing black armbands?
India and England were wearing a black armband during the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy which started in Birmingham on Wednesday. FOLLOW | India vs England 2nd Test Live Score Updates The players were wearing the armbands to pay respect to former England cricketer Wayne Larkins who passed away earlier this week. He represented England in 13 Tests and 25 One-Day Internationals between 1979 and 1991. The teams had worn black armbands in the first Test too, in memory of the lives lost in a passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad in June. Related Topics India / England
News18
6 hours ago
- Sport
- News18
Why India And England Players Are Wearing Black Armbands On Day 1 Of Edgbaston Test?
Last Updated: England players are wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the 2nd Test, which is taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The second Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and England is taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India and England players are wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the 2nd Test in the memory of former England, Northamptonshire, and Durham cricketer Wayne Larkins, who sadly passed away on June 28. 'Ned," as he was universally known, played 13 Tests and 25 ODIs between 1979 and 1991 and hit the winning runs in England's famous victory over the West Indies at Sabina Park in 1990. India and England players also wore black armbands on Day 1, Day 3, and Day 5 of the first Test, which was played from June 20 to 24 in Leeds, in memory of victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, David Lawrence and Dilip Doshi, respectively. Wayne Larkins' record for England Larkins played 13 Tests and 25 ODIs for England from 1979 to 1991 and scored 493 and 591 runs, respectively. He made his international debut against New Zealand during an ODI match played in Manchester on June 20, 1979, and his last match (ODI) as an English player was against Australia in Melbourne on January 10, 1991. England to bowl first England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss on Wednesday (July 2) and opted to bowl first. England are playing with the same team that won the series opener in Leeds by 5 wickets, whereas Indian team management have made three changes to the playing XI for the second match. World No. 1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, left-handed batter B Sai Sudharsan, and fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur are not playing in the 2nd Test. They are replaced by Akash Deep, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Bumrah, who was India's best bowler in the series opener played at Headingley from June 20 to 24, has been rested for the Edgbaston Test as part of workload management and will play in the third Test at Lord's. The third Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and England will be played at the Home of Cricket from July 10 to 14. Playing XIs England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir First Published: July 02, 2025, 15:30 IST
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Happy Hollies: India begin their hunt for history as pints flow across Edgbaston
The heatwave seemed to have broken just in time for the cricket, and a chill wind gusted up Edgbaston Road as fans arrived before the start of day one of the second Test. This befuddled many, and those arriving displayed no consensus over whether it was a day for shorts, for jumpers, for both shorts and a jumper, or – perhaps the obvious solution – for all-over cow-print bodysuits and some kind of homemade udder. It took a while for those morning clouds to lift, just about long enough for Ben Stokes to declare at the toss that these were excellent conditions for bowling but not long enough for England to actually benefit from them. As the teams walked out and lined up the stadium announcer informed the crowd that before play there would be 'a moment of appreciation of silence' in memory of Wayne Larkins, the former England batter who died last week at the age of 71, at which point everybody started clapping. The announcer eventually stopped them by simply saying 'thank you', rather than what he must have been thinking, which would have been something like: 'Why don't you try listening more carefully and we'll have another go.' Larkins played 13 Tests but never one at Edgbaston, despite being unexpectedly called up to play the third and final game against India here in 1986 – a call described at the time by the Guardian's Matthew Engel as 'on the face of it a crazy choice'. Larkins had started that summer by sustaining a serious injury playing football and continued by averaging a meagre 7.16 in the six first-class innings between his return and his international selection, but his elevation would not mark a change of fortune: another injury sustained on the eve of the match forced him to pull out and gifted Kent's Mark Benson, who a year earlier had been mulling retirement after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis, his only cap as the third of Graham Gooch's five opening partners that year. That game ended in a draw, historic in that it remains the only one of India's eight previous Tests on this ground that they did not lose. There is no ground in world cricket at which they have struggled as badly as this. Though as Shubman Gill pointed out on the eve of this match there is no reason why any of that should make any difference here; that drawn game started 39 years ago on Thursday, when nobody in either of these teams was any more than a glint in their father's eye. On a tangentially related note play was delayed by a glint in Yashasvi Jaiswal's eye, as the sun reflected unhelpfully off a window in the Raglan Stand, leading to the start being stopped because the opener wanted its closure. By the end of the first over, as Jaiswal misjudged a Chris Woakes delivery and slashed at clean air, the residents of the ground's infamous Hollies Stand had managed to indicate with a single, simple and surprisingly loud 'ooh' that they were up for this. And the ground seemed ready for them: under that stand are two bars, perhaps 50m apart, one called the Eric Hollies Bar and the other, not hugely helpfully, also called the Eric Hollies Bar – there is definitely an opportunity for more creative naming of stuff here – at which by 11am 53 members of staff were working, bolstered by lunch with a handful more. There was as a result no significant queueing at any stage, even during the lunchtime peak, evidence of competence, rigorous planning and care for the fans' matchday experience (if not, to judge by attempts to push a £9 'beer bundle' of a pint, a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar, their long-term good health). If only meals could be prepared as swiftly as pints. After losing the toss Gill explained his extremely conservative team selection – the decision not to pick Jasprit Bumrah was described as 'very hard to believe' by Ravi Shastri – by observing that 'this year has been a year of chaos', and for many of those stuck in cramped queues the lunch interval must have felt about as long and scarcely less shambolic. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion They at least had an impressive range of meals to choose from, with the ground ringed by stalls including The Bar by Fordhall Farm, Fordhall Farm BBQ, Hog Roast by Fordhall Farm, Fordhall Farm Grill and Fordhall Beer & Samosas, as well as Fordhall Farm woodfired pizzas, coffees, 'dirty chicken' and donuts (for those unfamiliar with the concept of dirty chicken, according to Google it 'can refer to two main things: raw chicken contaminated with bacteria like salmonella or campylobacter, or a specific style of heavily seasoned fried chicken'). Fordhall Farm is a family-led firm of producers and caterers that has been feeding fans here since 2015, initially on a much smaller scale, and signed a new long-term contract with Edgbaston earlier this year. And so another beloved institution falls into the hands of Big Farmer, though at least this one is organic.
India Gazette
11 hours ago
- Sport
- India Gazette
India, England players wear black armbands to pay tribute to Wayne Larkins
Birmingham [UK], July 2 (ANI): Indian and England players were wearing a black armband before the start of play on Day 1 of the second Test in Birmingham on Wednesday to pay tribute to former England batter Wayne Larkins, who passed away on June 28 at the age of 71. 'Both teams are wearing black armbands to pay their respects to Wayne Larkins - the former England Cricketer, who has sadly passed away. There was a moment's applause before the start of play on Day 1 of the second Test in Birmingham,' said BCCI. Between 1979 and 1991, Larkins, well known as 'Ned', participated in 13 Tests and 25 One Day Internationals. His second appearance for England was at the 1979 World Cup final, where he batted at No. 7 and bowled two overs. However, his greatest moment came when he scored the winning runs at Sabina Park, giving England a surprise 1-0 lead on the 1989-90 tour of the West Indies. That was Larkins' seventh Test, coming more than eight years after his sixth. He might have played more in between had he not been banned for three years for involvement in the 1982 rebel tour of South Africa. Larkins played for Northamptonshire for the majority of his career, amassing over 700 games for the team, and was well-known for both his strokeplay and his vibrant demeanour off the field. After that, he relocated to Durham, where he eventually retired after a career that saw him score 40,000 runs and 85 centuries. Larkins passed 1,000 first-class runs in every season between 1978 and 1985, and his magnificent purple patch in 1983 - hitting 236 against Derbyshire at Derby and 252 off Glamorgan's attack at Swansea in the space of seven weeks - might well have earned a Test recall, had he not been banned at the time for joining the unofficial tour to South Africa in 1982. Going into the second Test at Birmingham, India is trailing 0-1. During the last game, India failed to defend a 371-run target on the last day of the Leeds Test, despite having four fast bowling options in Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, and Mohammed Siraj, and only one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. (ANI)
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First Post
12 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Who was Wayne Larkins, the ex-England cricketer mourned by India and England players at Edgbaston
India and England players paid tribute to former cricketer Wayne Larkins during the 2nd Test at Edgbaston. Both teams wore black armbands to honour his memory. Larkins passed away on 28 June. read more England and India players paid tribute to Wayne Larkins ahead of the 2nd Test at Edgbaston. Image: AFP India and England players paid tribute to former England cricketer Wayne Larkins on Wednesday during the . Both teams were seen wearing black armbands as a mark of respect after Larkins passed away late last month. A moment's silence was observed before the start of play to honour his memory. Who was Wayne Larkins? Wayne Larkins was an explosive opening batter who played for England between 1979 and 1991. He featured in 13 Test matches and 25 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), scoring over 1,000 international runs combined. While his international career had its ups and downs, he was a consistent performer in county cricket. Larkins played most of his domestic career for Northamptonshire, also representing Durham and Bedfordshire. He scored more than 27,000 runs in first-class cricket, including 59 centuries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read: 'Gambhir era not holding back': India head coach slammed for dropping Sai Sudharsan after his debut match He was known for his attacking stroke play and was picked in the England team to open the innings with Graham Gooch in overseas tours of Australia and the West Indies. Apart from cricket, Larkins was also a semi-professional footballer, showing his all-round sporting talent. 'Ned loved everyone he met, and everyone loved him. People were drawn to his infectious energy. He lit up every room and never wanted the party to finish. He loved his soul mate of a wife and his precious daughters so much. He will be partying up in the sky, drinking a toast to everyone and to his own life. We are devastated, but we'll never forget his undeniably unique presence and his impact on our lives,' Larkins' wife Debbie said on Northamptonshire's website. Also Read: 'No ifs and buts. He should have played': Shastri blasts Gill-Gambhir for resting Bumrah in must-win game
