Reborn Norfolk cricket club becomes first in England and Wales to take part in new life-saving campaign.

A Norfolk-based cricket club has become the first in England and Wales to take part in a new campaign launched by The Club Cricket Charity, The Community Heartbeat Trust (CHT) and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to raise awareness of the risks of cardiac arrest within cricketers across England and Wales.

Grimston Cricket Club have today received the first of 1,000 new defibrillators provided through a new campaign – Score Runs, Save Lives.

The new campaign, which launched earlier this week across media and social media, has a key aim of deploying a further 1,000 working and insured defibrillators within cricket clubs across England and Wales (coupled with training for members at each club).

It will also raise awareness amongst cricketers of the signs and risk of cardiac arrest and the steps players need to take if something were to happen on the field.

The initiative has been fully backed, and has been developed in partnership, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), with funding provided by the England and Wales Cricket Trust (ECBs wholly owned charitable subsidiary).

Grimston’s decision is ground-breaking, given that the club closed its doors in 2010, before being reborn under the chairmanship of Tim Tilbrook in 2016.

With a renewed lease for the ground, coupled with the hard work of volunteers from across the community, the club now has two teams and a thriving junior and women’s section.

Taking part in the campaign shows the club’s strong commitment to ensuring the safety of all its members – despite the fact there is access to defibrillator 500 metres away within the village – with the club recognising that this distance is unlikely to make a difference if someone were to collapse on the field.

Speaking on behalf of the club, Sam Adkin (treasurer and junior/women’s cricket coach) highlighted the importance of the campaign, whilst urging other clubs to follow suit.

Adkin said: “As we’ve rapidly expanded, it’s been essential that our coaches have sufficient first aid training - the ECB first aid course was a real eye opener – and engaging with the Club Cricket Charity has made us recognise the importance of having a defibrillator and the lifesaving difference it can make.

"Knowing that we have a portable defibrillator means that we can ensure the wellbeing of all our players and opposition, home and away, whether during a summer match or winter nets.

"This is a specific choice we have made, and we urge any club – large or small – to take up this offer – it has the potential to save lives of cricketers across the country.”

Speaking about the Grimston’s involvement, Robbie Brook, trustee of the Club Cricket

Charity, said: “We know that cricket clubs want (and have a duty) to provide the safest environments for their players – young and old and we are delighted to welcome Grimston as the first club in our renewed campaign.

"Score Runs, Save Lives has a simple message – if you play cricket, please ensure you have the necessary knowledge, training and facilities needed to save someone’s life.

"There is only a vital five minute period before permanent or irreversible damage can occur. A portabledefibrillator can be the saviour of an otherwise catastrophic situation”.

Martin Fagan, national secretary of the Community Heartbeat Trust, added:

“We are delighted Grimston has recognised that, whilst there is defibrillator in the village, this is unlikely to make a substantial difference if someone were to suffer from cardiac arrest on the cricket field.

The current offer, open to any cricket club, includes a portable defibrillator, insurance, training, connection to the local emergency service and post-traumatic stress counselling.

The cost to a club is just £351.20 for the first year and a small annual maintenance fee of £150 for the following three years.

Access to CRY’s national screening programme is available for any parent or guardian who is concerned about their child(ren).

For more information on the campaign, please visit: https://www.theclubcricketcharity.org/score-runs-save-lives/