Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation marked the start of the new cricket season with its annual Season Blessing.
Held at the Uptonsteel County Ground, on Leicester’s Grace Road, the gathering brought together players, staff, local leaders and representatives from a wide range of faiths to collectively mark the beginning of another year of cricket.
The Season Blessing has become a key fixture in the Foundation’s calendar, highlighting the role cricket can play beyond the boundary, and recognising the power of the game to connect people through shared values of hope, togetherness and inclusion.
The event included a multi-faith blessing by religious and community leaders from across Leicestershire, in a service led by the Ven Richard Trethewey, Archdeacon of Leicester, and was a celebration of unity, reflection and community spirit.
In the final blessing, Richard said:
May the crease on which you bat always be smooth,
May the wind always carry the ball to the boundary,
May you always have a good team to support you;
And may the blessing of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you and with all those whom you love,
Now and for ever. Amen.
Talking after the event, Richard added: “On the sunniest day of the year, representatives of many of the faith communities in Leicester and Leicestershire gathered to mark the beginning of the new County Cricket season at Grace Road. With the Bishop of Loughborough committed elsewhere, it fell to me as the back-up (both in terms of position and cricketing prowess) to represent the Diocese and pray for all those involved, which, as in most professional sports, encompasses far more than just the playing staff.
"Sporting success can both reflect and shape the mood in city and county – we have seen this in other local sporting fortunes recently – and cricket is one of those areas which has the potential to bring people together across all kinds of divides: religion, race, class and age. This event did just that, and in different ways and with different beliefs, enabled people to express their hope that the County Club would be blessed in the season ahead.”
- Pete Gray of Big Appetite Illustration drew this fabulous image to mark the occasion and the year of cricket and community cohesion ahead.