After the success of last year’s inaugural Rainbow Laces campaign ECB and the cricket family will once again lace up this weekend to celebrate lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) players and fans at every level of cricket.
For the second year in succession ECB has joined forces with LGBT equality charity Stonewall to bring Rainbow Laces to the Vitality Blast and Kia Super League this coming weekend.
With the support of players, counties and broadcasters the campaign will see thousands don their laces between July 27 and July 29, to show that cricket is everyone’s game and that LGBT people are welcome and included at every level.
Stumps, flags and big screens will also feature the rainbow to further indicate ECB’s support for the campaign, which will run across every KSL and Vitality Blast fixture across the three days.
Four of those games – Yorkshire Diamonds v Lancashire Thunder (KSL), Yorkshire v Birmingham Bears (Vitality Blast), Durham v Notts Outlaws (Vitality Blast) and Western Storm v Loughborough Lightning (KSL) – will be live on Sky Sports.
It comes after ECB became the first sporting national governing body to march independently at Pride in London, as part of its Diversity Action Plan and Stonewall Diversity Championship Partnership.
ECB Chief Executive Tom Harrison said: “Cricket is a game for everyone and we’re pleased to be supporting Stonewall and Rainbow Laces once again.
“We’ve been proud to work alongside our principal partner NatWest and the message of their ‘Cricket has no Boundaries’ campaign rings true with Rainbow Laces.
“Everyone should feel that they are welcome in sport and we want to play our part in building an increasingly inclusive and accepting culture.”
Join the ECB and Stonewall to make sport everyone’s game.
