Press release - 27 May 2021 09:31

Stars of the cricket community launch the LV= Insurance ‘In With Heart’ campaign

Ahead of the two-match LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand, the cricket community has come together to launch the LV= Insurance ‘In With Heart’ campaign via a new film released today
You can download the rights-free film from the Official Title Partner of Men’s and Women’s Test Cricket in England & Wales here
Voiced by Michael Vaughan, the film includes England stars Anya Shrubsole, Ben Stokes, Heather Knight, James Anderson, Joe Root, Jofra Archer and Jordan Williams
‘In With Heart’ celebrates the sport’s community – with elite players, fans and recreational players all lending their voice to announce they’re ‘in’ for this summer’s domestic cricket season
LV= Insurance will also commence their ‘In With Heart Tour’ – bringing the elite and grassroots together at #Funds4Runs projects across the country to celebrate the heart of the game

Ahead of the two-match LV= Insurance Test Series against New Zealand, the cricket community has come together to launch the LV= Insurance ‘In With Heart’ campaign via a new film featuring stars from all corners of the game paying tribute to cricket.

LV= Insurance became Official Title Partner of Men’s and Women’s Test Cricket in England & Wales and of the LV= Insurance County Championship earlier this year following the launch of their joint £1million #Funds4Runs grassroots cricket initiative in November 2020. The opening Test against New Zealand at Lord’s next week will be LV=’s first as title partner.

In line with LV=’s support of cricket from the grassroots to professional game, the film celebrates the sport’s community with some of the game’s elite, fans and recreational players all lending their voice to announce they’re ‘in’ for this summer’s domestic cricket season.

In the film, narrated by former England captain Michael Vaughan, England Men’s Test players Joe Root, James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes are joined by England Women’s Anya Shrubsole and Heather Knight in revealing what cricket means to them.

Other contributors include former England bowler and broadcaster Isa Guha, Nottinghamshire opener Haseeb Hameed, Surrey spinner Amar Virdi, ECB Managing Director for Men’s Cricket, Ashley Giles, England disability player Jordan Williams and The Barmy Army’s Rob Lewis.

They are joined by other recreational players and fans including LV= Insurance ‘Cricket Champion’ volunteers in a celebration of the game.

Vaughan and Guha will be working with LV= Insurance across the summer as brand ambassadors for the ‘In With Heart Tour’.

Beginning with a stop in Bristol next month ahead of the LV= Insurance Women’s Test, the tour will bring England and County stars past and present to eight #Funds4Runs initiatives to connect the elite and grassroots together and celebrate the heart of the game.

#Funds4Runs was launched in November 2020 and focuses on the main areas where access to cricket support or cricket itself has been limited, including children from deprived backgrounds, diverse communities, disability groups and women and girls’ programmes.

Heather Smith, Managing Director at LV= General Insurance, said: “Our In With Heart film brings together faces from all walks of the cricket family and really showcases the excitement, passion and community spirit the sport generates, whether you’re playing in the park with friends or walking out to bat at Lords in a Test match. This togetherness and unity have never been more important and that’s why we’re so proud to be title partner for the next three years.

“There’s so much to look forward to this summer, with Men’s and Women’s Test matches, the County Championship already in full swing and producing some fantastic matches, and our grassroots initiative #Funds4Runs. Hopefully we’re in for a brilliant few months cricket, with no rain and lots of fans!”

ECB Chief Executive Officer, Tom Harrison, said: “The ‘In With Heart’ campaign underlines LV= Insurance’s support for the entire cricket community and celebrates the close connections that make our sport unique. The pandemic has taught us the value of strong relationships, from grassroots level through to our England teams, and thanks to LV= Insurance we will reach out to even more people to show them that cricket is a game for everyone.”

Joe Root, England Men’s Test Captain, said: “LV= Insurance has a deep connection and long relationship with English cricket as demonstrated by this campaign which we were all delighted to add our input into. Their support is vital to the game’s recovery. The cricket community is one big family – we’ve all come from local clubs – and so we’re all looking forward to re-connecting with the fans in grounds during the LV= Insurance Test Series this year. There is simply nothing like competing and winning in front of our supporters.”

LV= Insurance has also partnered with the Cricket Writers’ Club to help support the game’s journalists and their continued and valuable coverage of red ball cricket from the LV= Insurance Test Series to the LV= Insurance County Championship.

For more information visit the LV= Insurance cricket hub and @lv_cricket on social media.

- ENDS-

For further information please contact:

Simon Ansell, simon.ansell@lv.co.uk / 07826 953 024

Samuel Wakefield, samuel.wakefield@csm.com / 07788 352 002

Matt Somerford, matthew.somerford@ecb.co.uk / 07551 134 716

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Liverpool Victoria General Insurance

LV= General Insurance provides car, home, pet, travel, landlord breakdown and home emergency insurance to over 7 million customers in the UK.
We’re the UK’s third largest personal lines insurer with just over £2 billion in annual premium income.
We offer our products and services directly to consumers as well as through intermediaries, including brokers, affinity partners and IFAs.
LV= General Insurance uses the LV= brand under licence from the Liverpool Victoria Financial Services Group and the L&G brand under licence from the Legal & General Group.
We are part of the Allianz Group, one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 92 million retail and corporate customers.

The LV= General Insurance newsroom includes links to our news release archive and image library.

For an introduction to what we do and how we do it, please click here.

About ECB

ECB is the national governing body for cricket in England and Wales. It is dedicated to supporting the game at every level, from our international teams, the First Class Counties and domestic cricket through to disability cricket, grassroots clubs, schools and junior cricket and recreational programmes.

Last year ECB launched Inspiring Generations, a game-wide strategy to grow cricket in England and Wales from 2020-24. The five-year plan sees the whole game united behind a clear purpose: to connect communities and to inspire current and future generations through cricket.

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