England and Australia players are to wear black armbands and flags at Adelaide Oval are to be flown at half-staff today in an Ashes tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach shootings.
Two gunmen on Sunday night killed 15 people and injured dozens more at the iconic beach in Sydney. Their target was members of Sydney’s Jewish community celebrating the start of Hanukkah in what authorities said was an anti-Semitic act of terrorism.
“All of our thoughts are with the victims, their friends and families, the Jewish community and the people of Australia at this deeply distressing time. Our condolences go out to all those affected. We stand with you,” Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a joint statement.
Photo: AFP
Australia captain Pat Cummins said: “My heart goes out to the victims, their families, the people of Bondi and our Jewish community during this time. If you can, please book an appointment to donate blood.”
England captain Ben Stokes yesterday said his team was in shock as it heard news from the shootings on Sunday night.
“What happened a couple of days ago was an awful thing to watch unfold,” he said. “We were 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.”
Cricket Australia said that veteran Australian folk singer John Williamson would join tributes to the victims at the start of today’s match, the third in the five-Test series, which Australia leads 2-0.
Williamson is to perform his fabled song True Blue before play begins. Williamson would follow a moment’s silence and precede the Indigenous Welcome to Country ceremony, and the Australian and England anthems.
“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 contemplate what we want our nation to be,” Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said in a statement. “I’m grateful John has agreed to perform True Blue, which has at its essence is the ideal of Australians from all backgrounds sharing the same hopes and aspirations.”
South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said extra measures would be in place for the Ashes clash, although there was no intelligence pointing to an elevated threat level.
Additional reporting by AFP
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