ICC name Lord's Taverners as a 'Cricket 4 Good Partner' during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the Lord’s Taverners as an official ‘Cricket 4 Good Partner’ at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup this summer. The partnership celebrates the scale, reach and diversity of the Lord’s Taverners and showcases the commitment of the ICC to deliver a positive cricketing and social legacy through the Cricket World Cup.

In September 2018, the ICC and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an ambitious plan to engage 1 million 5-12-year-olds through the Cricket World Cup to ensure that the tournament is used effectively as a platform to grow and diversify the game across England and Wales. A key part of this plan sees the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup partner with leading cricketing organisations to ensure that the whole cricket family has a part to play in delivering a positive legacy.

The Lord’s Taverners is the leading youth cricket and disability sports charity in the UK, delivering a number of national programmes including Table Cricket, Super 1s, and Wicketz which improve the prospects of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled young people through sport and recreation. This partnership will give participants of these programmes the unique opportunity to play an active role in the tournament.

This will include visits from the trophy to several Lord’s Taverners Programmes as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy Tour, driven by Nissan. In addition, young leaders from the Lord’s Taverners programmes will be given the chance to step onto the field of play as official ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ‘Flag Bearers’ and will also play a role as tournament volunteers (Cricketeers). Finally, the Lord’s Taverners will be able to bring the excitement of the Cricket World Cup to their programmes, using Cricket World Cup branding and collateral.

To launch the partnership, yesterday (Wednesday 20 February) the Lord’s Taverners Luton Wicketz project hosted nearly 100 youngsters from 20+ different nationalities to take part in a mini-world cup tournament which included a visit from the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy and top coaching tips from England cricketer Sam Billings and former England fast bowler Devon Malcolm.

The event highlighted the power that the cricket and the World Cup has to bring communities together and is the first of a series of activities that the ICC will run in partnership with the Lord’s Taverners.

Commenting on the partnership, Steve Elworthy, CWC19 Managing Director, said “The ICC Cricket World Cup is a once in a generation opportunity for us to grow and diversify the game, and achieving this is something we are deeply passionate about. We all know the power that cricket plays in uniting communities, and the diversity and colour that the World Cup brings present us with the unique chance to positively impact lives across the country.

As part of this commitment, we are delighted to be working with the Lord’s Taverners in 2019. They are the leading youth cricket and disability sports charity with a strong reputation for delivering world-class programmes that support the lives of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled young people up and down the country.

Through the partnership, we want to give the Lord’s Taverners the opportunity to use the Cricket World Cup to enhance their programmes, as well as bringing them into the tournament itself through our amazing Flag Bearers and Cricketeers programme, as well as our Trophy Tour visits. Yesterday’s event was a brilliant showcase of this and we all look forward to upcoming activities where this partnership will flourish”.

Lord’s Taverners CEO, Paul Robin added: “Throughout the country, our programmes are breaking down barriers and empowering young people to fulfil their potential and build crucial life skills - and there is no better example than our Luton Wicketz project to demonstrate how we are uniting communities across the country.

Our programmes tackle key issues across the country while also developing team work, confidence, leadership and independence – all using cricket as the tool to engage young people.

“We’re delighted to be named as a Cricket 4 Good Partner which will allow our participants across the country to play their part in the tournament that will unite communities. There is no better way to celebrate and demonstrate our ongoing work than by being part of the kaleidoscope of colour and noise that the ICC Cricket World Cup will bring to this country.”

Speaking at the event, England international and Lord’s Taverners Ambassador Sam Billings said: “The Lord’s Taverners cricket programmes make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of disadvantaged and disabled youngsters and being named as a Cricket 4 Good partner will help showcase the fantastic work of the charity.

“Like millions of cricket fans across the world, the Wicketz participants in Luton can’t wait for what promises to be a fantastic tournament to start.”