New Balance launched the new England cricket kit in a flash mob style launch event that took place at Copeland Park, Peckham.
Fans, media and influencers viewed the premiere of the new campaign film to support the kit launch and also played a mass game of street cricket alongside their idols, including New Balance ambassador and England captain Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood, who is also a New Balance ambassador. The reveal of the One Day International and T20 cricket gear coincided with the launch of the Make Your Mark campaign which aims to appeal to a young and dynamic audience.
Make Your Mark is a strong call to arms to make things happen, but to do it your own way. It focuses on portraying cricket in its purest form and telling the stories of how players originally started playing the sport with wickets constructed using any means possible. Make Your Mark aims to have an inclusive appeal to sports fans and inspire them to give the sport a try.
England players that feature in the campaign film reflected on their first memories of the sport and the desire to play anywhere and everywhere possible.
Joe Root recalls his early beginnings in the sport: “My first experience of playing cricket was in the garden and in the driveway with my little brother. We would also go watch my Dad play league cricket on a Saturday and we’d be knocking a ball about on the side-lines whilst the game was going on.”
Dawid Malan was also familiar with the make-shift games as a child: “I think I was about two years old and there are photos of me in helmets and carrying about a cricket bat. And then growing up, we played in the backyard and made our own cricket strip and some of the games we had there with my brothers and neighbours were quite fierce!”
Danielle Wyatt on the family occasion cricket was for her as a child: “My Father and my older brother used to play at my local cricket club, Whitmore in Stoke on Trent. We would always play together as a family at home wherever and whenever we could, and I also played a bit at school. I’ve never looked back since then!”
The Make Your Mark campaign video can be viewed here.
For more information about the New Balance England cricket kit and Make Your Mark campaign follow and connect with New Balance on Instagram and Twitter at @NewBalanceUK, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NewBalanceUK and use the hashtag #MakeYourMark
