Middlesex Cricket is today delighted to announce that on 16th July 2021, when the Club plays its final home match of this season’s Vitality Blast campaign, the players will proudly walk out to face Kent Spitfires in limited-edition, one-off, red playing shirts and playing caps, in the colour of the Club’s long-standing charity partner, the Ruth Strauss Foundation.
Since the Foundation was launched in 2019, Middlesex have been a committed supporter of the charity, set up by former Middlesex cricketer and England Captain, Sir Andrew Strauss, in memory of his wife Ruth, who tragically passed away at the end of 2018 of a non-smoking lung cancer. Ruth was 46 years old and mother to two children, then aged 10 and 13.
The Ruth Strauss Foundation's mission is to ensure every family with a child facing the death of a parent has access to professional, emotional support, and is driving the need for more research into non-smoking lung cancers.
This latest initiative will not only see the Middlesex side playing in the Foundation’s bright red colours, but the Club is also calling for members and supporters to get behind the initiative and come to the game dressed in red, to show unified support for the charity.
As part of Middlesex’s commitment to fundraising in support of the Foundation, the special limited-edition shirts will be available to purchase via the Club’s online store, with 15% of all proceeds from shirt sales going directly to the charity.
Furthermore, each one of the playing shirts and caps worn by Middlesex’s players in the match against Kent on 16th July will be signed by the players and made available for supporters to bid for on an auction site, with 100% of the proceeds from the auctioned items going directly to the charity.
Speaking of the Club’s initiative, Middlesex’s Head of Commercial, Laura Angus, commented:
“We are extremely proud of our relationship with the Ruth Strauss Foundation, and continue to do all we can to help raise awareness of the great work being undertaken by them.
“It will be a special moment when our players walk out at the Home of Cricket in the Foundation’s vibrant red, and it would be outstanding if our members and supporters could all get behind the initiative and turn up in red on the day.
“The ongoing generosity of our members and fans in supporting the initiatives we do as a Club for our charity partners is hugely appreciated, and once again, we hope that they will get behind us in this latest initiative and either purchase a replica shirt or bid for the signed match-work playing shirts in support of the Foundation.”
Speaking on behalf of the Foundation, CEO Karina Murtagh said:
"We’re very grateful for the ongoing support from Middlesex Cricket and its community of families and friends. It’s through your support that we can help families facing grief - families just like mine and yours, who need to take that incredibly hard step to explain to a child that mum or dad won’t be getting better and don’t have much longer to live... We want to ensure that each one of these families have access to the much-needed guidance on how to start these very difficult conversations, and support them through this process."
Middlesex Cricket's limited edition red Nike Vitality Blast ‘Ruth Strauss Foundation’ playing shirts can be purchased HERE
Middlesex
Kent Spitfires
