The England team put on a Cricket Against Hunger coaching session for some local school children at the Galle International Stadium during the 2007 tour of Sri Lanka

Cricket Against Hunger is the partnership between the England and Wales Cricket Board and the United Nations World Food Programme.

The England team wore the Cricket Against Hunger logo on the men’s team kit for the duration of the ICC World Twenty20 - watch video

It draws on their combined strength and the immense pulling power of the England cricket team to raise awareness about global hunger and the work that can be done to eradicate it.

Hunger currently affects one in seven people in the world and kills more people every year than AIDS, TB and malaria combined.

In 80 countries in any one year, WFP provides life-saving food to millions of people hit by drought, floods or war. They help people build their lives – so that they no longer need assistance.

The Cricket Against Hunger partnership brings together England cricketers with the beneficiaries of WFP’s work. When the England team is on tour, WFP facilitates meetings between the cricketers and young children who depend on food aid to meet their nutritional requirements at school or in the communities where they live.

In this way, the stars of the England team are fast becoming advocates for the poor and the hungry.

Rikki Clarke and Ashley Giles are shown around a factory linked to the World Food Programme in Jaipur

In October 2006, while the England team was competing in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in India, four England internationals took time out from their training schedule in Jaipur to visit a group of children who receive food aid from WFP as part of a school feeding programme which is run jointly with the Indian Government.

Ashley Giles, Rikki Clarke, Ed Joyce and Jon Lewis spent almost two hours with the children, listening to the hardships they face as members of the Sahariya tribe, one of India’s poorest and most marginalised groups.

The players then played a quick game of cricket with the children before touring a factory in Jaipur that produces Indiamix, a highly nutritious food blend that is distributed to vulnerable groups in India.

The England A team have also been involved in raising the profile of Cricket Against Hunger, during their 2007 tour of Bangladesh. While the senior England team again helped promote the programme during their December 2007 tour in Sri Lanka.

The World Food Programme relies on donations to carry out the vital work it does. Go to www.wfp.org to find out how you can help combat hunger.

You can also find out more about the link-up between England and the World Food Programme via the news archive on the WFP website

England A took time out during their 2007 tour of Bangladesh to visit a school in the Gaibandha district as part of the Cricket Against Hunger programme