Why are England cricketers wearing black armbands? Who Joe Root and cricket team are paying tribute to in Chennai

England's cricketers are currently embarking on the second leg of their winter touring schedule in India.

The first of four Test matches in India took place today (5 February) at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the spiritual home of cricket in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu since 1916.

The five-day Test match will run over the weekend and into early next week, with the fifth day on Tuesday 9 February.

Viewers tuning in to the match today have noticed that the England team are all sporting black armbands. But why is that?

Here is everything you need to know.

Why are England wearing black armbands?

England's cricketers are wearing black armbands to mark the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Moore, who was offered an honorary England cap by captain Joe Root last year in recognition of his fundraising achievements, died in Bedford Hospital on Tuesday (2 February) morning after testing positive for Covid-19.

Sir Tom had been taken to hospital on Sunday after being treated for pneumonia for some time and testing positive for coronavirus last week.

His fundraising efforts raised more than £32 million for the NHS, walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday during the first national lockdown in April.

Following his death, tributes poured in for Sir Tom, including from the cricketing world.

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said Sir Tom’s legacy will inspire people to be better, telling BBC Breakfast: “I just think we all can take a huge lesson from Sir Tom about being a better person and that’s exactly what he’s been for 100 years.

“I think the legacy that he’s leaving and the amount of money that he’s raised for the NHS, and just by being that better person he’s inspired many more to be exactly the same.”

He added: “It’s been dark, dark times for many people over the last 10 months but, as I said before, every time Sir Tom came on the television screen you couldn’t help but smile, you couldn’t help but be inspired to be a better person.”

Sir Tom’s family said the last year of his life was “nothing short of remarkable” and that he had “experienced things he’d only ever dreamed of.”

How can I watch the cricket?

Channel 4 has won the race to broadcast live footage of England’s four Test match tour of India on TV, which means England's Test team will appear on terrestrial TV for the first time since the historic 2005 Ashes series held in England.

Sky Sports has shown the majority of England's tours since the 1990s and has usually been at the front of the queue when home series rights have been available to purchase.

Sky was in the running to secure the rights from Star India, who had previously planned on showing the matches through its online streaming service, but Channel 4 clinched them.

In terms of radio coverage, BBC's popular Test Match Special will provide some coverage of the tour but to listen to ball by ball action, UK-based fans can tune in to TalkSport2.

The radio station has the rights to the four Test matches, five T20 and three ODIs which will take place between India and England over the coming weeks.

The rest of the tour

The tour will see India v England play in Chennai and Ahmedabad – the second Test starts on Saturday 13 February, the third Test begins on Wednesday 24 February and the fourth Test is scheduled to start on Thursday 4 March.

All of the Test matches are scheduled for five days.