England cricket stars surprise Community Cricket Club to announce #Funds4Runs

A host of current and former English cricket stars stunned Leicester Electricity Sports Cricket Club in a friendly inter-squad match hosted by LV=Insurance.

Ahead of the LV=Insurance Test Series against New Zealand, James Anderson, Mark Wood and Nat Sciver, along with legends Steve Harmison and Isa Guha arrived as coach, goalscorer, referees and even served tea.

LV= also announced a donation from the #Funds4Runs community initiative for Leicester Electricity CC to rebuild their women’s team.

Unsuspecting club members were stunned when Anderson arrived to speak to the squad and offer training advice while Sciver acted as goalscorer for the day before Harmison and Guha appeared on the pitch to act as referees for the game. Wood then served drinks, sandwiches and cakes while the players came for tea.

“We all really enjoyed coming to Leicester and surprising the members of the club,” said Anderson. “It was a lot of fun and I thought Woody in particular found a new calling when he was hanging up the pads.

“Grassroots cricket clubs across the country are truly the heart of this country’s cricketing community and it is always great to come back and remember our own days spent on weeknights at our local clubs.

“I think that’s what the initiative that LV= has put in place today is all about and complement it with financial support to revitalize their women’s team as part of their #Funds4Runs investment in coaching. base is a very good idea.”

After the match, LV= announced funding to train a new coach to revive their women’s team, which dissipated following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding will come from #Funds4Runs – a £1million initiative co-funded by LV= and the ECB to help the grassroots cricketing community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its second full year, the fund will focus on opening coaching pathways for those involved in the game. It will aim to support 4,000 coaches and impact at least 20,000 players across all levels of the game each year, with Leicester Electricity CC’s new women’s coach being one of them. Courses will vary from basic phases to more specialized and advanced programs.

Heather Smith, Managing Director of LV= General Insurance, said: “We are delighted to announce the next step in our #Funds4Runs community initiative. Our mission is to help all corners of the grassroots community gain access to the game of cricket and supporting coaching is a fantastic way to keep that commitment going. , starting with Leicester Electricity Cricket Club Adding the human touch of the players surprising the Leicester club members in their inter-squad friendly match was truly heartwarming and a great initiative.

“LV= has a great passion for cricket, which dates back 20 years with our time as title partners of the County Championship, and we are proud to be able to continue that legacy today.”

Heather Powell, women’s section volunteer at Leicester Electricity Sports Cricket Club, said: “Our cricket club were delighted to be part of this event ahead of the next round of LV= Insurance Testing. It was great to see the professional players taking up volunteering activities, which are so crucial to the running of the cricket club. a downtown amateur club.

“Our women’s and women’s team suffered a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic and we have struggled to find the support to restart it since. Helping us develop a coach for the team will be the first step in maintaining our offers to women and girls, so thanks again to LV= for coming and supporting us in this process.

In January 2021, LV=Insurance signed a three-year sponsorship deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The deal sees LV=GI become the official title partner of Men’s and Women’s Test cricket in England and Wales, and the County Men’s Championship, until the end of 2023, including the 2023 Men’s Ashes Series.

England’s men’s summer fixture list begins with a three-match Test series against New Zealand, before playing their postponed Test against India and ending with a three-match series against India. South Africa. The England women will play their one-off test match against South Africa from June 27-30.

Follow @lv_cricket on social media or visit LV.com/gi/cricket to catch up on all the latest partnership news and for your chance to win tickets to England games this summer.