Three Sussex Cricket captains have become the first Sussex Cricket Foundation “champions”.
The three are women’s captain Georgia Adams, men’s captain Ben Brown and visually impaired captain Dan Field.
They will act as official representatives of the county’s elite squads in support of the foundation, which is Sussex Cricket’s charitable arm.
The “champion” role includes helping the Sussex Cricket Foundation in its mission to change lives through cricket across the community.
They will spread the word about Sussex Cricket Foundation’s community activities and help raise the profile of fundraising efforts, take part in events and visits, help inspire people to get involved in cricket and provide an important link between the foundation and the county’s elite dressing rooms.
All three already know about the foundation’s work first-hand, whether through the role it has played in their own cricketing lives or in the lives of the players they now lead as captains.
Georgia Adams said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be a champion of the Sussex Cricket Foundation for 2021.
“I’m so excited to get involved in the community and encourage people to play the game and love the game in the way we do.
“I can’t wait to get involved in some of the local events and hopefully inspire some of the younger generation to take up cricket.”
Ben Brown is keen to use his new role to increase exposure for the foundation and to encourage his teammates to get involved themselves.
He said: “It’s a massive privilege to become one of the first champions of the foundation alongside Georgia Adams, the women’s captain, and Dan Field, our visually impaired captain.
“It’s a huge honour and I think it is really special to be asked to fulfil that role.
“If we can use our positions as captains of the club to benefit the local community and spread Sussex Cricket throughout the county to do some good, then that’s got to be a great thing.
“I’m really pleased to be able to represent the players as a whole. Part of the role is to try to get the players to really engage in the community and make a difference to people’s lives at the end of the day.”
Dan Field is grateful for the support that he’s received in his own development and is keen to give something back as a Sussex Cricket Foundation Champion.
He said: “It’s a massive honour. Sussex have been amazing and provided a huge amount of support for me to play blind cricket for a long time now.
“They’ve created an opportunity for me and for a lot of other people across the county not just to have really successful blind cricket careers, but to make a lot of life-long friends and to have some amazing experiences.
“I’m very keen to play a part in making sure that more and more people can have those opportunities going forward, not just with disability cricket but cricket in general.
“I want more and more people to play cricket and to enjoy it.”
Sussex Cricket’s community cricket director Gary Wallis-Tayler said: “I am so pleased that Georgia, Ben and Dan have agreed to become the first ever champions of the Sussex Cricket Foundation.
“To have three high-profile players supporting our initiatives will help raise the profile of the foundation across the county as well as raising awareness among our professional playing staff.
“I am excited to work with all three in the future in what is an exciting time ahead for cricket.”
