Big Run Chase launched

Mike Gatting sets off for a quick single outside the Bank of England on Tuesday

England stars past and present turned out on Tuesday to help launch the Big Run Chase - a nationwide cricketing fun run that hopes to raise money for the ECB initiative a Chance to shine.

Geoffrey Boycott and Mike Gatting joined up with Ravi Bopara and England Women's captain Charlotte Edwards on a specially laid cricket pitch outside the Bank of England as pupils from Seven Mills Primary School in the Isle of Dogs help kick off the inaugural National Cricket Day.

The Big Run Chase is a mass participation cricketing fun run which aims to encourage people throughout the country, regardless of age or athletic ability, to raise money for Chance to shine’s campaign to regenerate competitive cricket in state schools.

Schools, cricket clubs, social clubs and companies are being asked to organise their own Big Run Chases throughout the summer and play their part in a nationwide attempt to score a million runs by the end of the cricket season.

A series of amazing prizes are on offer for the teams which raise the most money and which score the most runs, with a finals event to take place at Lord’s in September.

“What I have learnt through cricket is invaluable – how to win and how to lose, how to be part of a team and take charge as a captain," said Chance to shine President Mervyn King.

"My motivation, as President of the Chance to shine campaign, is to ensure that the cricketing opportunities I was given are available also to girls and to boys throughout the nation.”

England stars Ravi Bopara and Charlotte Edwards helped launch the new initiative

Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, was present at the launch.

“The Big Run Chase is an innovative idea and I'd encourage as many people to get involved as possible," he said. "Scoring runs is one of the most exciting parts of playing cricket and this is a great way to combine the sport with raising vital funds for Chance to shine.”

Nick Gandon, Director of the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to shine programme, explained the concept.

“The Big Run Chase is a fun, simple and inclusive way of getting people involved in cricket this summer," he added.

"While cricket is a game of subtle complexities, we have made the Big Run Chase simple. It’s easy to organise and we hope thousands of people throughout the country will take part.

“You only need 12 people, a couple of bats and enough space to mark up a pitch - in the school playground, the local park, the office car-park – and away you go.”

On National Cricket Day, over 500 primary and secondary state schools across England and Wales held a day of cricket and cricket-related activities to mark the third anniversary of Chance to shine, the campaign to educate school children through competitive cricket.

This article was taken from the ECB's official programme for the England v New Zealand npower Test Series - you can buy all your programmes online here now