Essex cricketers hold silence in memory of Nottingham attack victim Grace O'Malley-Kumar

Female cricketers have held a minute's silence in memory of former player Grace O'Malley-Kumar who was killed in the Nottingham attacks earlier this week.

The 19-year-old medical student was stabbed to death on Ilkeston Road in the city just after 4am on Tuesday morning, alongside fellow student Barnaby Webber.

Another man, school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, was later killed at another location.

As a mark of respect, female players at Essex Cricket Club observed a minute's silence ahead of their game against Kent on Saturday.

Ms O'Malley-Kumar played for the county from under 11 to under 15 level between 2015 and 2019, and even captained the team occasionally.

In total, she played 32 games for the club - scoring two half-centuries during that period.

She also represented Woodford Wells Cricket Club.

In a statement released earlier this week, Essex Chief Executive John Stephenson said that the club were "deeply saddened" to hear of Ms O'Malley-Kumar's death.

"It is clear from those who new Grace that she was a talented and bright person, and she will be great missed by those close to her both on and off the pitch," he said.

“On behalf of Essex County Cricket Club, we send our send our condolences to the families, friends and teammates of Grace and Barnaby during this extremely difficult time and we will be supporting those who have been affected by any means possible.”

The man charged with the three murders appeared in court on Saturday and was remanded in custody.

Former University of Nottingham student Valdo Calocane, spoke only to confirm his name, giving an alias of Adam Mendes.

He will next appear at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday.

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