Women's Ashes 2023: Why are England and Australia players wearing black armbands in one-off Test at Trent Bridge?

The much-anticipated Women’s Ashes 2023 finally kicked off with the one-off Test which is currently underway at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Just like the men’s team at Edgbaston a few days ago, both England and Australian women were also seen wearing black armbands.

The same was done to pay tribute to the victims of a stabbing and van attack in the city of Nottingham earlier. Furthermore, just like the men’s game, a minute of silence was observed ahead of the one-off Test as well.

Talking about the incident, three people died in the stabbing, with one of them being left in critical condition. Both the men’s and women’s players of England paid a fitting tribute to the victims of the tragedy.

Giving her take on the horrific incident, England women’s skipper Heather Knight talked about the matter as well. Knight stated that she was deeply saddened to hear the news, and the fact that two of the victims were cricket players hit too close to home.

Australia win the toss and opt to bat first in only Test

Theone-off Test has kicked off with the Aussie team being led by Alyssa Healy. Australia have won the toss and opted to bat first in Nottingham.

Both sides would be keen on making their impact on the game as soon as possible as the marquee series finally gets underway. As England looks to reclaim the Ashes, they have a tough task at hand in what will undoubtedly be a fierce battle.

In the absence of Meg Lanning, the Aussies will definitely feel a big gap in their batting line-up. However, the side could still prove to be a force to be reckoned with.

Despite Lanning’s absence, Australia go into the game as favourites. However, Heather Knight’s England will not be making things easy for the visitors as the marquee multi-format series gets underway. Interestingly, to deal with the pressure of captaincy Healy has expressed the desire to bat in the middle order.