Revealed: Why England Players Are Wearing Black Armbands In The Ashes Opener

England players were seen sporting black armbands in the Ashes opener at the Gabba in memory of the world’s oldest living Test cricketer, Eileen Ash, who passed away this week at the age of 110.

Eileen made her Test debut against Australia in 1937 and played seven Tests in total before retiring in 1949. She was part of British intelligence during World War 2.

She was also asked to ring the famous bell at Lord’s to signal the start of the 2017 ODI World Cup final which the English women won. Aside from cricket, Elieen also engaged in gold till the age of 98. She passed away on Saturday at the age of 110 and the England men’s team wore the armbands in her honor.

England wearing black armbands in memory of Eileen Ash, who was the world’s oldest living Test cricketer and died this week aged 110. Love this mark of respect from the men for a former Eng women’s player #<!---->A<!---->s<!---->h<!---->e<!---->s

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“Eileen taught Heather yoga, we played snooker, we drank cups of tea and we leafed through newspapers and scrapbooks celebrating Eileen’s time as a player in the 1930s and 1940s.”

“She regaled us with some amazing stories, including how she came to have her bat signed by Sir Donald Bradman at a French restaurant in Sydney in 1949,” the ECB managing director of women’s cricket stated.

England in trouble as the Aussie pacers run through the batting lineup

England was in deep trouble on Day 1 of the Gabba Test as they lost more than half the side with the score reading just 60. English skipper Joe Root fell for a rare duck which sparked a stunning collapse from the visitors.

Jos Buttler played a counterattacking knock and stitched a 50-run partnership with Ollie Pope before being dismissed by a wonderful nut from Mitchell Starc. The Englishmen were reeling at 122/8 with Chris Woakes and Mark Wood occupying the crease.

Also Read – Ashes 2021-22: It Is Not Impossible To Beat Australia At Gabba As They Lost To India, Says Jos Buttler