England cricketers and Alzheimer's Society unite for an 'unforgettable' day

Alzheimer’s Society joined forces with The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at the Kia Oval, as the England cricket team lined up with the wrong names on their shirts, to help raise awareness of dementia.

As part of day 3 of the latest Men's Ashes Test Match, the cricketers wore their teammates names in the line-up, to draw attention to confusion often experienced by people living with dementia and how people with dementia lose precious memories. 

Alzheimer’s Society and the ECB also removed one stump before play. The third stump was placed in the ground by Alzheimer’s Society CEO Kate Lee to raise awareness of the reality that 1 in 3 people born in the UK today will go onto develop dementia in their lifetime. 

Kate Lee, said:

Great cricket should be unforgettable, but sadly, for many of the 900,000 people living with dementia, this isn’t the case.

"It was such an honour to have the support of Marcus Trescothick and to see both teams, as well as the magnificent crowd at The Oval, take a moment to support people living with dementia."

The crowd were also shown two new Alzheimer's Society videos. The first featured England stars, Captain Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood.

All three spoke about their most unforgettable cricket memories and how they would feel if dementia took away their ability to remember these moments:

England Men’s Cricket captain and players Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood, talk about their earliest and most unforgettable cricketing memories, and how they would feel if they could no longer remember.

Great #CricketShouldBeUnforgettable. https://t.co/oFsZXP0Z7D pic.twitter.com/1K85vXrF5v

— Alzheimer's Society (@alzheimerssoc) July 29, 2023

England Cricketer, Moeen Ali, said: “Both the Men’s and Women’s Ashes this summer have created moments which should be unforgettable, but sadly we know that too many people will lose precious memories like these because of dementia.

I’m pleased that by teaming up with Alzheimer’s Society we’ve been able to use the spotlight of the Ashes to raise awareness and money to support those affected and to fund vital research.

The second film was a touching and personal look into the realities of dementia faced by England Men’s Coach, Marcus Trescothick, and England Women’s all-rounder, Alice Davidson-Richards, whose dads are living with dementia: 

Cricket professionals Marcus Trescothick and Alice Davidson-Richards talk about the dads who shaped their love of cricket and how they're now both living with dementia.

Great #CricketShouldBeUnforgettable. Help end the devastation caused by dementia: https://t.co/oFsZXP0Z7D pic.twitter.com/evpLuIHjBY

— Alzheimer's Society (@alzheimerssoc) July 29, 2023

An Alzheimer’s Society Singing for the Brain Group also sang Jerusalem at the event. The choir was joined by both England and Australia players, who walked out wearing Alzheimer’s Society-branded baseball caps, in a display of unity.

There are currently over 900,000 people living with dementia in the UK – enough to fill the Oval 33 times over. Funds raised during the match will go towards funding faster diagnosis, pioneering research, and the Society’s life-changing support services.