The Emirates Airline cricket team ‘Fly Emirates XI’ is on its way to the UK to compete against The Lord’s Taverners celebrity team in their fifth annual charity clash this Sunday. Set uniquely in the private grounds of Windsor Castle, and with H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh in attendance, the event highlights sporting achievement being used to benefit disadvantaged youngsters and those with special needs.
The two talented teams have already met once this year in Dubai, where The Lord’s Taverners claimed a hard-fought victory, winning the first match by 5 runs. The Emirates team was by no means out and fought back in the second match to win by three wickets. Fly Emirates XI now leads the results table 8-3 and will be eager to add another victory to the total.
Through the Emirates XI v Lord’s Taverners matches this year, Emirates, the award winning airline, has raised over £40,000 for The Lord’s Taverners, including funding a specially adapted Minibus for the students of The Walnuts School in Milton Keynes. The Walnuts School caters for 90 children with social and communication difficulties, many also have autism. The minibus will be used for sporting and educational trips and will also provide a crucial chance for the children to gain experiences and participate in sporting and recreational activities they might not otherwise enjoy. A presentation of the minibus will be made during the tea break on Sunday 15th June.
Maurice Flanagan, Executive Vice Chairman, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “We are thrilled to be lending our support to such a fantastic cause as The Lord’s Taverners and they continue to make a huge difference in the lives of many young people through cricket along with other sports. I’m sure that we’ll see yet another exciting match of cricket here at Windsor, and it’s a great honour for the match to be hosted in such a charming setting.”
Matthew Patten, Chief Executive of The Lord’s Taverners said: “The generous support of Emirates Airline for The Lord’s Taverners has positively changed the lives of thousands of children with special needs for the better, both in the UK and for 3 special needs schools in Dubai. We hope that all our friends at Emirates who have travelled from around the world to be here enjoy a wonderful day and we thank them for helping to fund one of our much-needed minibuses for children with disabilities.”
As ever The Lord’s Taverners team will feature a variety of well known names from the worlds of cricket and entertainment; Captain Darren Maddy (England and Warwickshire) will lead a talented team featuring: Allan Donald (Warwickshire and South Africa), (Andrew Caddick (Somerset and former England), Ian Salisbury (Warwickshire and England), Neil Smith (from England), Devon Malcolm (England) and Chris Tarrant amongst many other well known names. The Emirates XI Team is made up of talented employees of the Dubai based airline, from all around the globe, the majority of whom represent the UAE in ICC representative matches.
Emirates has a great affinity with cricket and as an Official Partner of the ICC, Emirates has rights to all ICC major tournaments including the 2011 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy, ICC World Twenty20, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier, ICC Under-19 World Cup, ICC Intercontinental Cup and the ICC Women’s World Cup.
Through the partnership with the ICC, Emirates will continue its sponsorship of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and Referees; with the Fly Emirates logo being displayed prominently on the umpires’ clothing at all ICC events until 2015.
Emirates is the Official Airline to Cricket Australia and was the sponsor of the successful Australian Cricket Team, who landed their third World Cup victory in 2007.
