Faith in the Foxes: Leicester’s Multi-Faith Leaders Offer Blessings at Season Opener

Leicestershire CCC was blessed by faith practitioners from across Leicestershire to bestow good luck upon the Club ahead of their opening home game of the season on Friday.

Led by The Right Reverend Saju Muthalaly, Bishop of Loughborough, the pre-season blessing at Grace Road welcomed representatives from different faith groups to praise the role sport plays in bringing our communities together.

Alongside faith practitioners, were dignitaries from Leicestershire including Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Riaz Ravat and Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Bhupen Dave who watched as representatives from Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Foundation and LCCC’s pillars each put forward an item pertinent to their department, including a cricket helmet, grass seeds, marketing leaflets, cricket bell, HR folder, calculator, community map and strategy.

Over 100 guests gathered at the Uptonsteel County Ground ahead of play against Derbyshire, hosted by LCCC CEO Sean Jarvis; Leicestershire & Rutland Foundation and Chair of Trustees, Tom Campbell.

Working in partnership with the St Phillips Centre, the list of attending faith practitioners included: Minou Cortazzi “ Baha’; Kevin Commons “ Buddhist; Ila Patel “ Hindu; Nicole Shasha “ Humanist; Shaimaa El Baz “ Islam; Akash Shah “ Jain; Elliot Stephen Harris “ Jewish; Angela Langrick “ Pagan; Surinder Kaur Sandhu “ Sikh; Revd James Pickersgill- Christian

Namita Patel, Managing Director at Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket Foundation said: ““For me, cricket has always been about more than just the game. It’s about bringing people together. Seeing so many different faiths and communities come together today is a powerful reminder of how much unity and support exists for cricket at every level from the grassroots right through to the professional game.”