Why England and Australia cricketers are wearing black armbands on Day 1 of 1st Ashes Test

A minute of silence was also observed by the players and officials just before the start of play on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test.

England and Australia cricketers were wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the first Ashes Test at Birmingham to pay respect to the victims of the Nottingham attack. A minute of silence was also observed by the players and officials just before the start of play. Three people were killed in a brutal stabbing spree, including British Indian teenage medical student Grace O’Malley Kumar - a talented cricket and hockey player.

England's players stand for a minutes silence in memory of the victims of a knife and van attack that killed three people in the city of Nottingham (AP)

Nottinghamshire Police have formally identified the 19-year-old as one of the victims of the attack in the early hours of Tuesday.

She was killed soon after the fatal stabbing of her friend Barnaby Webber, also 19, and the third victim, 65-year-old Ian Coates, was stabbed to death soon after on a nearby street in the Nottingham city centre.

A 31-year-old male suspect, believed to be of West African origin, remains in police custody as counter-terror officials help with the murder investigation.

The Barmy Army, England's official fan club, will play a rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ in the 56th over of play on Saturday. "In light of the tragic incident in Nottingham this week, we wanted to commemorate Barnaby and Grace who both played cricket," the Barmy Army tweeted.

Coming back to cricket, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first in what looked like a belter of a track. On Friday, the hosts had already announced their XI that featured three quicks in James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and comeback man Moeen Ali as the lone spin-bowling all-rounder. There was no place for tearaway quick Mark Wood.

Australia, on the other hand, decided to leave out Mitchell Starc as a fit-again Josh Hazlewood returned to the scheme of things. Hazlewood had missed the WTC final due to a side strain opening doors for Scott Boland, who impressed one and all with his nagging line length against India.

"We need to rotate our bowlers," said Australia captain Pat Cummins at the toss. "It was a really tough call on Mitch, but it's a nice problem to have with someone like Josh to come in."

Australia's side also features the top three in the world Test batting rankings -- Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head.

A straw-coloured pitch allied to sunny skies encouraged Stokes to bat for the first time after winning the toss in a Test match in England.

"It looks a really good wicket," said Stokes, who has presided over 11 wins in 13 Tests since joining forces with coach Brendon McCullum last year. "It's a good toss to win but we've got to get some runs on the board now and make the most of it."

(With agency inputs)