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Why Are India and England Players Wearing Black Armbands On Day 3 Of 1st Test At Headingley?

Abhinav Tyagi

India and England stars paying respect - (Source : @BCCI/X.com)India and England stars paying respect - (Source : @BCCI/X.com)

India and England players observed a minute’s silence before the start of play on Day 3 of the first Test. Players from both teams wore black armbands to pay tribute to David ‘Syd’ Lawrence, who recently passed away at the age of 61.

The teams lined up with black armbands across their sleeves to honour the former England and Gloucestershire bowler, who represented the Three Lions in five Test matches.

"Both teams are wearing black armbands to pay their respects to former England Cricketer, David 'Syd' Lawrence, who has sadly passed away. There was a moment's applause before start of play on Day 3," tweeted BCCI.

Who Was David ‘Syd’ Lawrence?

The former England bowler will go down in history as the first British-born black person to play for the Three Lions making his debut in 1988. Born in Gloucester in 1964 to Jamaican parents, Lawrence made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire in 1981 and went on to play 280 matches for the county, picking up 625 wickets.

Lawrence formed a formidable new-ball partnership with West Indian great Courtney Walsh during his county career, but couldn't make it big in the international stage because of knee injury. In 2024, David Lawrence was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a progressive neurological condition.

India-England Players Also Honoured Ahmedabad Air-Crash Victims

This is not the first time the two teams have entered the field with black armbands. On Day 1, they also observed a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the victims of the Ahmedabad air crash.

The entire stadium prayed for the victims where they expressed their condolences following the fatal crash on June 12. A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which was en route to London crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad and it claimed the lives of 181 Indian nationals and 53 British citizens.