England team wears black armbands during T20 World Cup final

MELBOURE: England are wearing black armbands to pay tribute to former cricketer David English during the T20 World Cup 2022 final against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the news after English died of a heart attack at the age of 76.

"England will wear black armbands tonight to pay respects to David English - a stalwart of English cricket who sadly passed away overnight," the board said in a statement.

"David established the Bunbury Festival (under 15 cricket competition), which helped develop thousands of first-class cricketers & over a hundred England players. To date, 125 internationals went through the festival over the past 30 years. Including many who'll feature in tonight's World Cup final," it added.

English's Bunbury schools festival has so far helped to foster the careers of more than 1000 first-class cricketers.

It is pertinent to mention here England have opted to bowl first after winning the toss against the Men in Green in the blockbuster final.

It must be noted that the weather has improved in Melbourne ahead of the grand finale.

The chance of rain has reduced from 95 to 46 per cent before the highly-anticipated clash.

A minimum of 10 overs per side is needed to constitute a game, compared to five during the group stages. If the match starts on Sunday but isn´t finished, it will resume on Monday from where it was halted.