Nottinghamshire’s cricketers have set themselves a fundraising target of £2k after releasing a charity song in aid of the local NHS.

Thirteen members of the Outlaws squad, with Club Captain Steven Mullaney and England international Ben Duckett among them, sung a rendition of Julius Cowdrey’s ballad Frontline.

The players, who are all spending time away from the club during the Covid-19 outbreak, chose the Nottingham Hospitals Charity as the cause for their initiative.

The full video can be viewed here, while donations to Nottingham Hospitals Charity can be made here…

“We wanted to do something that used our profile as cricketers for the good of our community,” explained Duckett.

“What Julius has done by bringing out the song to say thank you to frontline workers, with all proceeds going to the NHS, is something we all fully support.

“The Cowdrey family are synonymous with cricket, the Essex boys had already done something similar and Julius asked me what I thought of the idea.

“We thought we’d get some help with the video editing, make the best job of it we could and try to raise some money for a deserving charity.

“It’s a great song actually. Some might say we’ve ruined it in our version! But it’s all a bit of fun and – as I said – for a brilliant cause.”

“It’s a great song. Some might say we’ve ruined it in our version! But it’s all a bit of fun and for a brilliant cause.”

Ben Duckett

Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores admitted to being deeply impressed by the community spirit of his charges, albeit not so much by their singing.

“I don’t think they’ll be giving up the day jobs, that’s for sure,” he laughed.

“But what a great thing for the lads to come together, completely off their own bats, and do for a charity they all support.

“They’re spending time away from the club at the moment, and after six hard months of preparation for the season that’s difficult for them to take.

“But they’re in regular contact with each other, having virtual coffee mornings and things like that, and keeping in touch is important.

“For them to come up with something like this without any prompting from the club, and to execute it themselves as well, is really impressive.”

Extracts from the video have already been viewed hundreds of thousands of times across the players’ social media channels. They are approaching 50 percent of their £2k fundraising target.

The track features Ben Duckett, Peter Trego, Steven Mullaney, Tom Moores, Joe Clarke, Lyndon James, Jack Blatherwick, Ben Slater, Joey Evison, Ben Compton, Sol Budinger, Zak Chappell and Chris Nash.

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club recently launched its ‘All In’ community response – a series of targeted acts of support in reaction to the Covid-19 crisis.

Early initiatives have included providing hot meals to homeless, sheltered & vulnerable individuals in partnership with Guru Nanak’s Mission and helping raise £16k for the Robin Hood Fund via memorabilia donations in partnership with John Pye Auctions.

Further information on strands of the ‘All In’ community response and information on how members, supporters and surrounding communities can get involved are being published on the Trent Bridge website and social media channels.