England and Sri Lanka are facing each other in the first of the three-match Test series at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first only to find themselves in early trouble. Meanwhile, both teams are wearing black armbands today as a tribute to former England cricketer Graham Thorpe who passed away earlier this month.
Thorpe took his own life, confirmed his wife a few days after his death and also stated that he had been battling depression for a long time. He was one of England's greatest-ever batters having played 100 Test matches and also joined the national team as batting coach later. England's stand-in captain for the Sri Lanka series, Ollie Pope, had confirmed on the eve of the Test match that they will pay tribute to Thorpe.
"We'll have our black armbands on throughout the course of the game and there'll be a tribute to him before. It's hurt a lot of people in that changing room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach. I really admired him.
"I remember him saying one thing to me, which was: 'Never let the runs you're scoring define you as a person'. In a bit of a rut when you're young, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It shows, for me, what a people's person he was. He was loved in the changing-room. He's such a sad loss to everyone: to the country, his family and the boys as well. He's missed, and we'll honour him this week," Pope had said.
The teams lined up for a moment of applause before the national anthems at the Old Trafford on the first morning of the Test and the players will wear black armbands throughout the game.
As far as the Test match is concerned, Sri Lanka are in tatters after opting to bat as they have lost three wickets for just six runs. Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka and Angelo Mathews have gone back to the pavilion and things are already looking tough for them.
Playing XIs
England (Playing XI): Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope(c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake
