After all, they were only wristbands, and besides, the entire England team was wearing ‘Help for Heroes’ logos on their strips, expressing the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) support of British military servicemen and women who have been wounded in armed conflicts.

However, Ali appears to have underestimated the growing backlash facing those who dare to suggest criticism of Israel. So while the ECB could not with any consistency deny him the right to wear the wristbands while it supported Help for Heroes, it left it to the International Cricketing Council, the sport’s supreme governing body, to take that decision.

To read the rest of Faisal Bodi’s piece click here.