The ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 saw both the Indian and Australian ladies teams playing with black armbands as a tribute to the 17 year old Ben Austin, who accidentally died by being hit on the neck with a cricket ball during training in Melbourne.
Why Did India Women and Australia Women Cricketers Wear Black Armbands During Semi Final ICC Women’s World Cup 2025?
The action symbolizes the grief that was shared between the two countries, and the players through their black armbands have shown that they belong to one community via cricket, even though there is rivalry. Captains Kaur of India and Healy of Australia both mentioned the importance of the tribute and how it brought about an emotional atmosphere for what was otherwise a high pressure sports event. The match could have provided intense rivalry, but the black armbands set a mood of mourning that had already implied there were moments that mattered more than winning or losing. Both sides had their main players long enough to let the dead one whom they honored share with them the deeper human side of sports.
Both teams are wearing black armbands today to pay their respects to 17-year-old Melbourne cricketer Ben Austin, who sadly passed away following an accident while batting in the nets on Tuesday night.#TeamIndia | #WomenInBlue | #CWC25 | #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/Qhn1B2DmsF
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) October 30, 2025
Who Was Ben Austin?
Ben Austin’s case was really a sad one, a youthful and gifted cricketer of Australia perished due to a cricket ball accident at his neck while training in Melbourne. The cricket world lost one of its most promising players, and the tragedy came as a result of an ill fated incident at his local cricket club where he was practicing. The neck injury led to internal bleeding, and in spite of the medical personnel’s great efforts to revive him, he was eventually declared dead. The whole cricketing fraternity was stunned by the death of a gifted young man players, fans, and the whole world were crying and paying tributes to him when he died so tragically. Austin was indeed a gifted and spirited player, and the suddenness and shock of his departure once more brings up the question of safety measures in junior cricket.
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