England cricket icon Lydia Greenway’s recently launched women’s cricket talent search programme – The 1 – teamed up with leading sports footwear brand PAYNTR as its Official Footwear Partner.
The 1 is a competitive programme which seeks to find discover cricket’s future top ranked female all-rounder. Modelled partly on the testing framework of the annual NFL Combine, the inaugural competition for 12 to 18-year-olds takes place at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on 5 September and spans cricket’s three core disciplines – bowling, batting and fielding.
The cricketer who scores the most points across all three disciplines will be crowned the winner, take home a trophy and a prize package which includes a 12-month PAYNTR sponsorship deal and ambassador contract. The tie-up will see all participants receive a pair of bespoke PAYNTR cricket shoes.
The partnership is being promoted by a PR and online campaign led by a video amplified across both brands’ social platforms.
We’re joining forces with @GirlsCricketC & @lydiagreenway in the hunt for the next No.1 female all-rounder
All competitors taking part in The 1 will receive a pair of Payntr cricket shoes, with the winner also landing a 12-month Payntr sponsorship deal and ambassador contract pic.twitter.com/Ug5cTTmRo4
— PAYNTR™ Cricket (@PayntrCricket) August 19, 2021
The 1 has emerged from Greenway’s online ‘Girls Cricket Club’ coaching platform which aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, resources, inspiration and opportunities for girls in cricket, as well as serving as an independent voice for females within the game.
“Teaming up with a brand that has its roots firmly in cricket and understands the needs of players is great and really aligns with what we’re all about. PAYNTR is changing the game with cricket footwear and their commitment to supporting our event is a great indication of their value for the women’s game,” commented Greenway.
“We are delighted to be backing The 1 in the search for the sport’s next superstar female all-rounder,” added David Paynter, whose great grandfather Eddie Paynter scored the winning runs in the fourth Ashes Test at the Gabba in the infamous Bodyline Series of 1932/33. “Here at PAYNTR we are so encouraged to see more and more girls taking up this great sport, and initiatives such as The 1 will certainly attract more young female players to play cricket. From speaking to a number of our professional women ambassadors, who also coach in schools and clubs, I know there is a great deal of cricketing talent coming through the ranks, so it’s massively exciting to see all of the girls take part in the event next month.”
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The 1, which aims to host future competitions in key cricket-playing nations around the world as part of an international series culminating in a world championship, has also partnered with cricket brand Kookaburra as its Official Equipment and Cricket Ball Supplier.
PAYNTR was founded in 2017 by former Yorkshire and Northamptonshire professional cricketer David Paynter, with the aim of producing performance-enhancing footwear that was designed with the biomechanical needs of the player in mind. The brand supports a team of elite professional athletes around the world including Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Adams.
The partnership follows on from the launch of the Girls Cricket Club, an online coaching platform aimed at accelerating the growth of female cricket around the world through the sharing of knowledge, resources and opportunities.
The Girls Cricket Club complements Greenway’s successful Cricket for Girls, which will continue to focus on building successful girls cricket programmes in schools and clubs by developing the teachers and coaches, whilst the Girls Cricket Club will focus on the players. The Girls Cricket Club aims to connect female cricketers around the world, to serve as an independent voice for girls and women within cricket and to provide female-specific resources to girls and women of all ages and backgrounds.
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