July 2024

Lionesses star Lauren Hemp helps us inspire more people to give cricket a go

European Championship winner Hemp, who played cricket at junior level for Norfolk Women and still has a real love for the sport, met with a group of local families in Manchester’s Cheetham Hill this week and took them through their cricketing paces, encouraging them to try a different ball game and showing how easy – and fun – it is to pick up the sport of cricket.  

Lauren appeared at the event as a KP Snacks ambassador,

to promote our ‘Everyone In’ campaign, which aims to make cricket more accessible to all and encourage families to get active through cricket.

Amidst the summer of sport and with The Hundred getting underway, Lauren hopes to tempt fans who have enjoyed watching her tearing up on the wing for England to get active with cricket. She even demonstrated that you don’t need a cricket ball to start throwing yorkers and googlies, bowling to fans with a full-sized football in an improvised game, showing attendees they can play cricket with whatever equipment they have available. 

The Lionesses hero, who won the 2022 UEFA European Championship with England at Wembley and also plays for Manchester City Women, was joined by her friend Ellie Threlkeld, a wicket-keeper for Manchester Originals in The Hundred.  Ellie presented Lauren with an ‘Everyone In’ branded cricket bat, so she has no excuse not to keep hitting sixes for the remainder of the summer.   Stars of the Manchester Originals women’s team Lauren Filer and Beth Mooney also helped to lead the training session for the families at Cheetham Hill, who were delighted to meet the Euros winner as well as players from their local Hundred side.  

Lauren Hemp said: “I grew up playing cricket every summer and had to make a tough choice to pursue professional football or cricket when I was 16. I have always loved this sport, so it’s amazing that KP Snacks is helping thousands of families access cricket pitches and removing the barriers to entry. It’s great to show these families that you don’t need lots of special equipment or fancy facilities to play cricket, you can just find an ‘Everyone In’ pitch near you, turn up with a bat and a ball and get started on your cricketing adventure!” 

KP Snacks Marketing Director, Kevin McNair says: “Our ‘Everyone In’ campaign is designed to do exactly that – bring everyone in to the game of cricket. Working with a national hero like Lauren, who has been involved in cricket her entire life, will help to show many more families in Manchester and across the country that cricket is not only an easy sport to pick up, but it’s a great way to stay social and active. 

“If you want to give cricket a go, even more of our ‘Everyone In’ pitches will pop up across the UK this year. Those we have installed so far have seen incredible numbers of locals stepping up to the crease as part of our overall mission to create more than a million opportunities for people to get more active across the UK by 2033.”  

Everyone In community pitches are set to be installed this year in Newcastle, Burnley, Bristol and other locations across the country, taking the total to 71 by the end of 2024 and 29 further pitches due to be unveiled in 2025. 

You can find out more KP Snacks and The Hundred tournament on this page.