England and West Indies will pay tribute to Britain’s key workers during the forthcoming Test series, which has been named the #raisethebat Test series in recognition of the sacrifices made by doctors, teachers, carers and other vital professions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the build-up to the first Test, which begins on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl, England’s players will wear the names of selected key workers with cricketing backgrounds on their training shirts, while the #raisethebat initiative – which has already featured on 300 billboards across the country, and featured in a short film narrated by Stephen Fry – will be rolled out to a wider audience from June 29.
The decision to dedicate the series to key workers comes after the ECB’s Test sponsorship deal, a two-year agreement with Specsavers, elapsed at the end of the Ashes last summer with no replacement lined up.
“We’ve…