England And Australia Players To Wear Black Armbands In Ashes Tribute To Bondi Shooting Victims

England and Australia players will wear black armbands and flags at Adelaide Oval will be flown at half-staff on Wednesday in an Ashes tribute to the victims of the Bondi beach shootings. On Sunday night, two gunmen 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 Hannukah in what authorities said was an antisemitic act of terrorism.

Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board issued a joint statement saying: "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.” 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.”

Cricket Australia said Tuesday that veteran Australian folk singer John Williamson would join tributes to the victims at the start of Wednesday's match, the third in the five-test series which Australia leads 2-0. Williamson will perform his fabled song “True Blue” before play begins. Williamson will follow a moment's silence and precede the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the Australian and England anthems.

“This is a tragic time for all Australians and the thoughts of everyone in the cricket world are with the victims of this terrible event, their families, friends and the Jewish community," Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said in a statement Tuesday. “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. I'm grateful John has agreed to perform True Blue' which has at its essence the ideal of Australians from all backgrounds sharing the same hopes and aspirations."