Why are England players wearing black armbands?

England players were seen wearing black armbands on the first day of the ongoing second Ashes Test in Adelaide. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) soon cleared that they were paying a tribute to the first-class umpire Russell Evans who passed away on Friday. The cricketing world is mourning his sudden loss as the touring Ashes squad of England down under also wore armbands on their jerseys to remember the highly respected umpire.

Evans was aged 52 and he lost his life after complications following a routine medical procedure. He was also a county cricketer who played for Nottinghamshire for seven years from 1985 and 1992. He also played 16 List A matches, six of them for Notts, seven for the Minor Counties and three for Lincolnshire. He then served on the panel of first-class umpires of ECB for four years after being appointed to the reserve list in 2011. He recently officiated in the Women’s ODI and T20I and was also appointed as the representative of the first-class umpires to Cricket Discipline Committee.

We are all sad to hear of his passing

Russell Evans was a very well known umpire to the world and chief executive of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Lisa Pursehouse paid tribute to him. “’Russell was very well known in the cricket world and had many friends here at the Club. We are all so sad to hear of his passing. He was one of the first people I met when I began working in cricket. He was a true gentleman who cared deeply about the game and will be sorely missed. He had so much involvement with the Nottinghamshire cricket scene throughout his life as a player and umpire, and we pass on our sincerest condolences to Russell’s family and friends at this sad time,” she was quoted as saying by dailymail.

Chris Kelly, the manager of first-class umpires also mourned his loss and said, “This is terribly sad news for all Russell’s many friends and colleagues within our professional game.Russell had fulfilled a long-cherished dream by becoming a First Class Umpire and was already showing the potential to take his new career to an even higher level. His diligence, professionalism and attention to detail all won him huge respect among his fellow umpires and no task was too big or small for him. He will be greatly missed and we send our deepest sympathies to his family at such an untimely loss,” he said.