The upcoming Ashes series starting on August 1 at Edgbaston is set to be the first Test series to feature shirt numbers on the back of players’ shirts.
The move, which was proposed earlier this year, is a move against Test match tradition as cricket authorities hope players will be recognised by casual fans more easily.
The move follows practices within both English and Australian domestic cricket where players wear their whites with numbered shirts.
England are yet to fully disclose the shirt numbers all of their players will wear. However, it appears likely their choices may reflect the numbers they wear in limited-overs cricket or domestic cricket.
Jason Roy, who looks set to make his Test debut against Ireland on July 24, wears the number 20 for Surrey whilst wearing number 67 for England’s limited-overs teams.
Meanwhile, England have released photos of Joe Root, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali all in their new numbered England shirts.
Unsurprisingly, Joe Root is set to continue wearing ‘Root – 66’ with the England top-order batsman’s shirt number becoming more memorable to fans then most.
The ICC also released photos of Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad sporting numbered shirts. Both are set to continue wearing their existing shirt numbers with Moeen Ali wearing 18 in limited-overs cricket and Stuart Broad previously wearing 8 during his international white-ball career.
England’s record wicket taker James Anderson could see a return to the number 9 shirt after wearing it during his white-ball international career.
Australia A have already featured in their new kits against Sussex, complete with numbered shirts, giving fans an indicator of which number some of the Australians may be wearing.
Whilst many of Australia’s test stars were away at the World Cup and therefore did not feature in that match, Test captain Tim Paine and seam bowler Josh Hazlewood were the star names to feature.
Early signs suggest Tim Paine is set to wear the number seven shirt after wearing it in the tour match against Sussex. Meanwhile, Josh Hazlewood sported the number 38.
Meanwhile, Travis Head wore number 62 and seamers Jackson Bird and James Pattinson wore the number 3 and 19 shirt.
The move to numbered shirts comes as the ICC Test Championship is days away from starting. Soon after The Ashes starts, West Indies will host India in a test series also set to feature numbered shirts.
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