Ashes 2023: During day two’s games, Edgbaston Stadium will turn blue in honor of Bob Willis: On Saturday, the second day of the first test of the 2023 Ashes, the Edgbaston Cricket Stadium will be “Blue for Bob” in remembrance of England’s renowned cricketer Bob Willis, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 70 after a battle with prostate cancer.
The Bob Willis Initiative will gather money to aid and support the research and awareness-raising efforts of the Bob Willis Fund, which was established by his wife Lauren Clark, and brother David.
In the 2021 ODI between England and Pakistan and on day two of England’s rescheduled fifth test against India in 2022, Edgbaston first became blue for Bob. Fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game on day two to show their support.
Between 1972 and 1984, Willis played his home games at Edgbaston for the county team Warwickshire, where he won the County Championship in his inaugural campaign.
Willis amassed 325 wickets for England in 90 tests, taking them for an average of 25.20. His most illustrious performance came in the Ashes test at Headingley in July 1981, when he took 8/43 to give England the victory. He joined Sky Sports as a commentator after quitting the sport.
Joe Root scored an outstanding 118 in the ongoing first test, his first century against Australia since 2015, and helped England reach 393/8 before making a shocking declaration on the first day of the Ashes Test.
Along with Root’s 30th Test century, Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley both scored 61 runs. By the time the game ended, Australia was 14/0 and remained 379 runs behind England.
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