The England cricket team came out wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the first Test against India at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Friday. England skipper Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat, and both openers Dom Sibley and Rory Burns were seen wearing the black armbands as they came out to face the Indian pacers.
The gesture was made by Joe Root and co. to pay respect to international war veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore, who had passed away at the age of 100 earlier this week. The news of Captain Moore's passing away was announced on his Twitter account.
Earlier, a video was posted on ECB, in which Joe Root expressed his condolences over Moore's death.
"Really sad news, had the pleasure of getting a chance to speak to him at the start of the last year. I am sure his family would be extremely proud of the legacy he has left behind. Someone gave the nation a chance to smile about in these dark times. All the great things he did for the National Health Services (NHS), on behalf of the whole cricket team, I would like to send thoughts to him and his family," England skipper Joe Root had said in a video released by ECB's media team.
{{/usCountry}}"Really sad news, had the pleasure of getting a chance to speak to him at the start of the last year. I am sure his family would be extremely proud of the legacy he has left behind. Someone gave the nation a chance to smile about in these dark times. All the great things he did for the National Health Services (NHS), on behalf of the whole cricket team, I would like to send thoughts to him and his family," England skipper Joe Root had said in a video released by ECB's media team.
{{/usCountry}}"He spoke very fondly about the game of cricket throughout his life. From the whole cricket community, he will be sadly missed," he had added.
Meanwhile, Root, after winning the toss, had explained his reasons for the decision. "We are going to bat first. We are going to try and get the best of this wicket, think it will deteriorate as the game moves forward and maybe go up down for the seamers and take spin for the spinners," he had said..