England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is auctioning the shirt he wore in last year’s historic Cricket World Cup final to raise money for hospitals fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Buttler played a huge role in the dramatic win over New Zealand at Lord’s in July, scoring a crucial half-century, batting in the Super Over and completing the iconic run out of Martin Guptill which sealed victory ‘by the barest of all margins’.
In a video on social media, the 29-year-old said he would be posting the shirt, signed by all members of the World Cup-winning squad, on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospital’s charity.
“As we all know, hospitals, doctors, nurses and the NHS are all doing quite an incredible job at the moment,” Buttler said. “And in the weeks and months to come they are going to need our support even more.
“Last week, the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospital’s charity launched an emergency appeal to provide lifesaving equipment for those two hospitals, specialising in lung and heart conditions in preparation for the Covid-19 outbreak.
“To help with their fundraising effort I’m going to be donating this shirt, which is the shirt I wore in the World Cup final last year, signed by all the players who were members of the squad.”
Like many sports, cricket has seen its fixture list decimated by coronavirus suspensions. Buttler was on England’s tour of Sri Lanka which was aborted during a warm-up game, and was due to play in the IPL during the spring, but that competition has also been postponed. Domestic cricket in England will not begin until late May at the earliest.
