CWC 2023: Why are Australian players wearing black armbands during their fixture against Netherlands?

Australia are taking on the Netherlands in Match 24 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, October 25 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Australian captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first, however, they lost their opener Mitchell Marsh (9 off 15) in just the fourth over of the innings.

Notably, during the match, the Australian players are being spotted wearing black armbands to pay homage to former Australian cricketer Fawad Ahmed and his family, who lost his four-month-old baby boy. The former wrist spinner welcomed his second child earlier this year in June, however, the newborn was facing several health issues and was admitted to Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne where he succumbed to his illness.

Hence, the entire team was seen wearing black armbands to extend their support to Fawad’s family amid these tragic times. Notably, Fawad made his debut during a T20I against England in August 2013 and represented Australia in two T20Is and three ODIs picking six wickets in total. 

The thoughts of the Australian Cricket community are with former Australian spinner Fawad Ahmed after the passing of his young son.

Our condolences are with Fawad, his family and friends in this terribly difficult time ❤️

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) October 24, 2023

The Australian squad are wearing black armbands in respect of Fawad Ahmed and his family following their loss this week #CWC23

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) October 25, 2023

Meanwhile, after Australia lost Mitchell Marsh early in the innings, David Warner continued his brilliant form at the other end and brought up his half-century off just 40 balls with a boundary against Vikramjit Singh. Warner was well supported by Steve Smith who also brought up his first fifty of the tournament off 53 balls.

Glenn Maxwell scores the fastest hundred in ODI World Cup history

The opening batter went on to score his second consecutive hundred of the tournament as he played an innings of 104 (93). On the other hand, Steve Smith (71 off 68) and Marnus Labuschagne (62 off 47) also made valuable contributions to the Australian total.

However, it was Glenn Maxwell, who stole the limelight with his breathtaking knock of 106 (44) lower down the order. He shattered the record for the fastest hundred in the ODI World Cup history reaching the landmark in just 40 balls and helped his side post a massive total of 399/8 in their allotted 50 overs.

Also Check: Most Runs in ODI Cricket World Cup 2023