England team to wear 'Black Lives Matter' logo in Test series against West Indies

The England men's team will be wearing a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on their shirts when they play West Indies in the three-match Test series starting on July 8. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the same on Thursday.

Test captain Joe Root, stand-in captain for the first Test Ben Stokes and all other members of the England team have also supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The hosts will wear the same logo as the visitors.

The Black Lives Matter logo has been designed by Alisha Hosannah, wife of professional footballer and captain of Premier League side Watford Football Club. As per the ICC regulations, the logo will be displayed only on the collar of the shirt.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board fully supports the message that Black Lives Matter. It has become a message of solidarity and a drive for progress and societal change. There can be no place for racism in society or our sport, and we must do more to tackle it," Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, said in an official statement.

"Our support of that message is not an endorsement, tacit or otherwise, of any political organisation, nor the backing of any group that calls for violence or condones illegal activity. We are aware of certain aspects of the movement that promote their own political views, and their actions are not supported in any way by the ECB and our players," he added.

England and West Indies will support the Black Lives matter movement

The England team is currently at the Ageas Bowl, where they are preparing for the first Test in a bio-secure environment. The first match of the series is scheduled to begin on July 8 in Southampton.

This series will mark the resumption of international cricket which stopped three months ago. The rubber will also be the first in which the new cricket rules will be seen, which includes the ban of saliva to keep the ball shining among other rules.