Players from Australia and England will wear black armbands throughout this week’s third Ashes Test at Adelaide Oval, a small but visible tribute to the 15 people killed in Sunday night’s mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Flags inside the ground will fly at half-mast, and a minute’s silence will follow the formal ‘Welcome to Country’ and the national anthems before the first ball on Wednesday. Folk singer John Williamson is scheduled to perform his song ‘True Blue’ as part of the pre-match ceremony.
Cricket Australia confirmed the gestures on Tuesday, describing them as a way for “millions of people” to acknowledge the tragedy. Todd Greenberg, the board’s chief executive, said: “This is a tragic time for all Australians and the thoughts of everyone in the cricket world are with the victims of this terrible event, their families, friends and the Jewish community. While sport can seem insignificant at times like this, we have the unusual opportunity to bring millions of people together to pay tribute, to console and to contemp”.
Pat Cummins, who lives a short walk from Bondi at Bronte Beach, admitted the news had felt personal. “Like most other Aussies and people round the world, [I was] horrified watching on,” Cummins said after training. “I’d just put the kids to bed and flicked the news on as that was coming through. Me and my wife were watching in disbelief.
“It’s a place that is just around the corner from where we live, and we take the kids there all the time. It hit home pretty hard. I really feel for the Bondi community, and Jewish community in particular. Seeing the scenes over the past couple of days has been pretty powerful as well. We’ll wear armbands throughout the Test and commemorate the victims.”
England captain Ben Stokes described similar emotions when footage appeared on the team-room television. “What happened a couple of days ago was an awful thing to watch unfold,” he said. “We were sat in our team room and it came up on the news about what was happening. It was silence from everyone in there seeing that happen.
“It’s incredibly sad for Australia, for Sydney and for the world. It does put things into a lot of perspective when you see things like that happen. And for everyone that it’s affected, all our hearts go out to everyone. It’s a horrible thing to see happen.”
The attack occurred during celebrations for the first night of Hanukkah, with gunmen shooting into crowds gathered on the foreshore. Beyond the 15 fatalities, dozens more were injured, and security around major sporting venues has been reviewed, though authorities insist there is no specific threat to the Ashes contest.
For players and fans alike, Wednesday’s Test will begin under a sombre cloud, cricket temporarily taking second place to collective reflection. Yet by day’s end the series will stand at either 2-0 or 1-1, and the game will move on. The hope among organisers is that the opening ceremony, black armbands and moment of silence offer at least a brief space to pause, remember and, in Greenberg’s words, “console”.
