Lizzie Jones has joined the quest to place a defibrillator in every available cricket club.
The critically-acclaimed soprano singer is providing grant funding to the life-saving initiative, as well as singing on the field at The Specsavers Ashes Test 2019 at Emerald Headingly stadium 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 £200,000 towards defibrillators and heart screening events.
The partnership with cricket launched last month and Lizzie is singing for the opening ceremony at the Ashes at Headingly this Thursday.
Lizzie has wowed stadium crowds across the country whilst promoting her cause, including performances at England football internationals, BBC Sports personality and the rugby league Challenge Cup Final.
“It’s great to be able to partner with cricket. 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 in our action stopping there.
“I’m so grateful 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 have been offered to all cricket clubs throughout at the heavily subsidised price of £700 (reduced from £1,500) thanks to donations from the Danny Jones fund, Nottinghamshire Cricket Board and **********.
The chances of a patient surviving a CPR situation increase from 6% to 74% from use of a defibrillator, with chances diminishing by 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” said the cricket board.;.
“It feels particularly relevant to us after what happened to James Taylora 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 everyone.”
Donations to the Danny Jones defibrillator fund can be made at https://www.dannyjonesdefibfund.co.uk/
To talk about defibrillator provision at your local cricket club, email josh.scully@nottsccc.co.uk
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