Tributes to be paid to Bondi shooting victims in third Ashes Test in Adelaide as Australia captain Pat Cummins says events 'hit home pretty hard'
Australia and England players to wear black armbands during third Ashes Test in Adelaide from Wednesday following Bondi beach shooting on Sunday; flags will fly at half-mast; home captain Pat Cummins, who lives in neighbouring suburb to Bondi, says events "hit home pretty hard"
Tuesday 16 December 2025 09:33, UK
Australia and England players will wear black armbands during the third Ashes Test in Adelaide following Sunday's shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
Fifteen people were killed and many others injured after gunmen opened fire at a Hannukah celebration to mark the start of the Jewish holiday.
Flags will fly at half-mast during the game at the Adelaide Oval from Wednesday, while Australian folk singer John Williamson will perform his 1982 hit True Blue on the opening morning after a minute's silence is observed.
Australia captain Pat Cummins, whose family live in Bronte, a neighbouring suburb to Bondi, said the attacks "hit home pretty hard", while England skipper Ben Stokes described the events as "awful".
Cummins told reporters on Tuesday: "Like most other Aussies and people in the world, I was just horrified watching on.
"We had just put the kids to bed and flicked on the news as that was coming through. Me and my wife were watching in disbelief.
"It's a place just around the corner from where we live and we take the kids there all the time. We really feel for the Bondi community and the Jewish community, in particular. Seeing the scenes over the past couple of days has been pretty powerful as well."
Stokes said during his pre-match press conference: "We were sat in our team room and it came up on the news about what was happening.
"It was silence from everyone in there seeing that happen. It's incredibly sad for Australia, for Sydney and for the world.
"It does put things into a lot of perspective when you see things like that happen. For everyone it's affected, all our hearts go out to everyone. It's a horrible thing to see."
South Australia Police has confirmed an additional security presence, including armed officers, will be at the Adelaide Oval this week, although fans have been told that there is no increased threat level.
Todd Greenberg, chief executive of Cricket Australia, said: "This is a tragic time for all Australians and the thoughts of everyone in the cricket world are with the victims of this terrible event, their families, friends and the Jewish community.
"While sport can seem insignificant at times like this, we have the unusual opportunity to bring millions of people together to pay tribute, to console and to contemplate what we want our nation to be.
"I'm grateful John [Williamson] has agreed to perform True Blue, which has at its essence the ideal of Australians from all backgrounds sharing the same hopes and aspirations.
"We will continue to look at ways cricket can support and honour those who have been affected by the Bondi shootings and thank those who provided assistance during and since this tragedy."
