India and Australia players wore black armbands and observed a moment's silence ahead of the second men's T20I between the two teams in Melbourne.
Cricket Australia paid tribute to Ben Austin, the Melbourne teenager who passed away after being struck on the neck by a ball during a training session. The incident sent tremors across the country, with condolences pouring in for Austin in the aftermath.
At the 2025 Women's World Cup, India and Australia players wore black armbands during their semi-final clash last night.
Australia, India players wear black armbands
The men's cricketers also repeated the gesture ahead of the second T20I. As per a Cricket Australia release, approximately 15 minutes before the start of play, players from both teams as well as match officials and representatives from Ben Austin's Cricket Clubs, Cricket Victoria and Cricket Australia took the field.
They observed a moment's silence, with Ben's image being shown on the big screen. His favourite song was played in the background.
2nd T20I, Australia vs India
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Aside from players, match officials and MCG Arenas Teams also wore black armbands as a mark of respect.
Austin passed away on Thursday morning, two days after the incident. He was wearing a helmet, but one without the extended neck guard, and was placed on life support after being brought into the hospital in a critical condition.
Cricket Australia extended their condolences to Austin's family, and assured every bit of support in the aftermath.
"The tragic circumstances of Ben and Ferntree Gully are...going to be felt across the country," Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said. "Cricket is a sport that brings people together, communities together. It's also one that feels very deeply an incident such as we've seen.
"Hard to put words on it. What we want to say is that we are doing everything we can to support the family, the club, and all those impacted by this tragic news. Clearly, there are things that we have to learn from this, but right now, we are concerned about the family and trying to support them in every way."
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