London: The fifth day of the final Ashes Test Saturday began with a humane touch to it as England cricketers wore jerseys with wrong names printed on it, supporting people affected by dementia.
Veteran pacer James Anderson wore a jersey carrying the name of Stuart Broad, Jonny Bairstow wore one with the name of Ben Stokes on it and Moeen Ali donned the flannel with the name of Chris Woakes, and so on.
The move was symbolic of the confusion often experienced by people suffering from dementia, the disease that causes loss of memory.
England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick explained the decision, a joint call of ECB and Alzheimer’s Society.
“We are here supporting the Alzheimer’s Society, and it is a subject very close to our hearts. It is a terrible disease,” said Trescothick while talking to Sky Sports.
“We are here to try and raise awareness and bring it to the fore by educating people, and raising money too. The more money and awareness go into it, there will be more research.
“We have seen that new medication and new drugs have come into the market, they can make a big impact into that. Hopefully, today’s initiative will keep pushing people to understand that,” added Trescothick.
However, Trescothick, a former England opener, has a personal reason too to get associated with the novel effort as his father, Martyn, is living with dementia.
