ECB and LV= General Insurance launch #Funds4Runs

The ECB and LV= General Insurance have launched a pioneering initiative to support areas of grassroots cricket impacted by COVID-19.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and LV= General Insurance (LV= GI) have today launched #Funds4Runs – a pioneering initiative aimed at helping the grassroots cricket community recover and rebuild financially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The £1m investment, jointly funded by the ECB and LV= GI, will focus on key areas where access to cricket support or cricket itself has been limited – children from deprived backgrounds, diverse communities, disability groups and women’s and girls’ programmes

The initiative, and LV= GI’s support, will also help deliver against three wider ECB objectives – delivering the purpose of ‘connecting communities and improving lives’ through cricket, increasing the relevance of cricket locally and growing long-term engagement with the game in these communities.

Financial support from the initiative will be accessible to affiliated clubs, All Stars Cricket centres, community organisations, county cricket boards and Cricket Wales.

How to apply

Interested parties can register their interest in #Funds4Runs funding here or find out more information at lv.com/gi/cricket.

The ECB Participation and Growth teams will oversee the administration and determine final financial approval while working collaboratively with local county cricket boards to ensure priorities in their local areas are met.

Cricket heritage

LV= General Insurance and its parent brand Allianz Group have a longstanding heritage and association with cricket.

LV=’s involvement dates back to 2002 and includes three separate stints as title partner of the County Championship – 2002-05 (Frizzell County Championship), 2006 (Liverpool Victoria County Championship) and 2007-15 (LV= County Championship). Allianz Group, through its Cornhill brand, also sponsored Test cricket for 23 years between 1978 and 2001.

#Funds4Runs was launched today at a virtual event hosted by Isa Guha and Michael Vaughan with professional cricketers from England’s men’s, women’s and disability teams – Mark Wood, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Jordan Williams.

With approximately 2.5 million male and female recreational cricketers across the UK, Mark Wood highlighted the importance of grassroots cricket across the UK after beginning his own journey to national honours at Ashington Cricket Club in Newcastle.

He said: “I am delighted to help launch #Funds4Runs. I know from my experiences as a young cricketer that grassroots cricket is the heartbeat of the sport and being given that opportunity to access cricket is crucial in building a love for the game.

“Like many other players, I’ve been concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on the game so thank you to everyone at ECB and LV= for providing much needed support that will help English cricket to recover and thrive.”

To read the full press release from the ECB, please click here.