Critically-acclaimed singer Lizzie Jones has joined the quest to place a defibrillator in every cricket club across Nottinghamshire.
The soprano will provide grant funding to the life-saving initiative, as well as singing on the field at Trent Bridge to raise awareness, following her own devastating story surrounding heart disease.
Rugby League international Danny Jones, Lizzie’s husband, tragically died aged 29 in 2015 after suffering a cardiac arrest during a match, with post mortem results later confirming the cause of death was an inherited heart condition. Their twins, Bobby and Phoebe, were six months old.
The Danny Jones Defib fund has since raised and donated over £150,000 towards defibrillators and heart screening events.
The partnership with Nottinghamshire is, however, Lizzie’s first in cricket.
Lizzie has wowed stadium crowds across the country whilst promoting her cause, including performances at England football internationals and the rugby league Challenge Cup Final.
She will perform on the field at Trent Bridge ahead of the T20 Vitality Blast fixtures against Leicestershire Foxes on Saturday 27 July and Derbyshire Falcons on Friday 16 August.
“It’s great to be able to partner with cricket in Nottinghamshire. We want as many cricket clubs as possible to be in a position where a life could be saved,” said Jones.
“We’ve done a lot of really important work in rugby, but I’ve got no intention of our action stopping there.
“I’m so grateful to Nottinghamshire for being the first to bring the cause into mainstream cricket.
“I would love to see as many clubs as possible – hopefully all of them – placing a defib at their ground because doing so genuinely will save lives.”
Defibrillators will be offered to all cricket clubs throughout Nottinghamshire at the heavily subsidised price of £800 (reduced from £1,500) thanks to donations from the Danny Jones fund and Nottinghamshire Cricket Board.
The chances of a patient surviving a CPR situation is documented to increase from around 6% to 74% from use of a defibrillator, diminishing by approximately 10% with each passing minute.
“When you hear the stats around how much they improve the chances of survival, of course we want to see a defibrillator at every ground in Nottinghamshire,” said the club’s Director of Cricket, Mick Newell.
“It feels particularly relevant to us after what happened to James Taylor a few years ago, and it’s great that Lizzie – who has such a moving story – has chosen to get involved in the project.
“I know our community team have been working hard with Lizzie and other partners to make defibs as cost-effective as possible for clubs. Hopefully the price will be manageable for as many of them as possible.”
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Donations to the Danny Jones defibrillator fund can be made at www.dannyjonesdefibfund.co.uk
To talk about defibrillator provision at your local cricket club, email josh.scully@nottsccc.co.uk
Secure your T20 Vitality Blast seats here.