Why New Zealand Cricketers Are Wearing Black Armbands In 2nd Test Against Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka won the toss yet again and elected to bat in the second Test against New Zealand in Galle on Thursday, September 26.

As the New Zealand cricketers took the field on Day 1 of the second Test, the players spotted black armbands. 

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) revealed that the black armbands have been put on in memory of Ian Taylor, a former New Zealand men’s team manager and NZC director, who recently passed away. Taylor’s legacy in New Zealand Cricket (NZC) is deeply cherished, and he has made significant contributions having served as a board director, manager of the men’s national team, and chair of Cricket Wellington.

“The Test team is wearing black armbands on day 1 of the 2nd Test in Galle to honor the passing of former Black Caps manager, NZC director & Cricket Wellington chair Ian Taylor,” a Black Caps statement read on X.

New Zealand, who lost the first Test having failed to chase the score down in the fourth innings, will be hoping to turn things around this time. 

The New Zealand cricketers have remained unchanged in its playing XI, while Sri Lanka made a couple of changes to their combination with Milan Rathnayke returning to the side, replacing Lahiru Kumar. 27-year-old spinner Nishan Peiris was handed his cap to mark his debut. 

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 2nd Test: Playing XI

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Kusal Mendis(w), Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee(c), Ajaz Patel, William ORourke

Also Read: How Rangana Herath’s Insight Helped New Zealand Dismiss Karunaratne

After the win in the series opener, Sri Lanka went past New Zealand to the third place on the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table and will be looking forward to continuing its successful run which began at the Oval against England. 

New Zealand, on the other hand, have now lost three Test matches in a row (two against Australia in Feb-March) and will hope to bounce back to winning ways before a crucial series against India next month.