Ashes cricketers will hold minute’s silence for Nottingham victims

England and Australia cricketers held a minute’s silence for the victims of the Nottingham attacks on the first day of the Ashes today.

Players wear black armbands to pay their respects to Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates – all of whom were fatally stabbed in Tuesday’s atrocity.

All three victims are remembered for their love of sports. Barnaby was a talented cricketer recently selected to represent the University of Nottingham and also played for Bishops Hull Cricket Club in Taunton.

Grace played for the Essex U15 team and Woodford Wells Cricket Club, as well as representing England in field hockey. Ian was a lifelong fan of Nottingham Forest, with family members wearing the club’s shirts at a vigil in Nottingham yesterday.

In addition to the minute’s silence, the Barmy Army’s England supporters’ group are urging players to sing Amazing Grace on the 53rd over – which was Barnaby’s jersey number.

Former University of Nottingham student Valdo Calocane has been arrested on suspicion of triple murder.

Earlier this week, Bishops Hull Cricket Club posted pictures of tributes to Barnaby sitting under the stumps of the village side.

Essex Women’s Cricket also held a minute’s silence for both students, calling Grace ‘a huge talent, a respected captain and a great teammate’.

Talented 19-year-old students Grace and Barnaby were found stabbed to death in Ilkeston Road around 4am on Tuesday.

Dedicated school janitor Ian, 65, was subsequently found dead in Magdala Road after his van was allegedly stolen by the suspect.

The heartbroken mothers of Grace and Barnaby yesterday urged Nottingham to ‘hold no hatred’ during the emotional vigil in the city.

Crowds stretching nearly half a mile watched with tears in their eyes as relatives of all three victims paid strong, heartbreaking tributes to their loved ones.

Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, fought back tears as she told the crowd that the “monstrous person” responsible for the deaths “will not define us.”

“I know he will get the retribution he deserves,” she said.

“But this bad person is just that. He’s just a person.

“Please don’t have hatred related to any color, sex, or religion.”

The history student’s tearful brother and father stood behind Mrs. Webber as she held his photo and said, “My beautiful, beautiful boy, you have mine, your father and your brother’s heart forever.”

Grace’s mother, Sinead O’Malley, echoed the feeling of not harboring hatred and urged the crowd, “Be kind to each other, take care of each other, have no hatred in your hearts.”

She said the extent of the grief for her daughter reflects the extent of the love she and her family had for her.

Relatives of both students supported each other’s shoulders as they tried to process their emotional speeches.

A large number of people watching sobbed as Dr. Sanjoy Kumar said their family had turned “three”.

He had to pause to wipe his eyes during his speech, calling himself a “broken-hearted father” before asking people to imagine a world without violence, a world of “just love.”

Grace’s brother James’s voice trembled as he called his sister his best friend and said, “If only one message comes out of this, I urge all of you to cherish every moment spent with your loved ones because you just never know when it will end.’

Ian Coates’ sons paid tribute to their father by wearing red Nottingham Forest shirts, all of which had ‘RIP Dad’ printed on the back.

One of them, James, pledged support for Grace and Barnaby’s families before thanking people for the “kind words” that have come in about his father.

“It feels like he’s touched a lot of hearts over the years, more than we thought and knew he had, so it’s been really fun and heartwarming to see the posts and people come out and talk about what he was like when they were younger and how he helped them,” he said.

He added: ‘Dad was an avid fisherman, he loved his family and he also loved his forest. You grub.’

The vigil ended with a musical item by students at the University of Nottingham prompting parents in the crowd to hold their children in their arms and prompting many to wipe away their tears with tissues.

In addition to the fatal stabbing attacks, Nottinghamshire Police said a man is also in a serious condition in hospital after the van ran into him on Milton Street.

Police have referred a new incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog after a flagged police car followed the vehicle for a short distance before hitting two more pedestrians on Sherwood Street.

The IOPC confirmed it was “assessing the referral to decide what further action might be needed.”

The 31-year-old suspect was apprehended at 5:30 a.m. when the van was finally stopped.

Police revealed the suspect is a former University of Nottingham student, but said it is ‘not believed to be related to the attack’.

Yesterday afternoon, Home Secretary Suella Braverman visited the city to pay her own tribute to the victims of the attack by laying a wreath at Nottingham Council House with a handwritten message to their families reading: ‘We are with you.’

Nottinghamshire Police said detectives have been given a further 36 hours to question a former University of Nottingham student after he was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder.