Can you hear it? That distant hiss? Getting closer and closer? That’s the sound of our Vipers slowly gathering together before the start of Season 2 of the DP World ILT20 league! With two days to go before our first match vs the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Dubai International Stadium, we’re really excited about the start of the new tournament, and spirits are high in the camp. We’ve got some new faces joining us this year in the team – Shaheen Afridi, Tanish Suri, and Nathan Sowter, to name just a few – as well as new signings off the pitch, such as our Sustainability Manager, Ben Hardy-Jones, but we’ve also kept the core identity of our team and management staff that did so well last season when we got oh-so-close to the trophy.
However, new players aren’t the only difference you might notice while watching our matches this season. Those of you who came to our jersey launch or saw the content of it online might have spotted something new on the fan jersey which was expertly modelled by Toby Gregory: “Vipers Pledge Net Zero 2040”. While we have documented our desire to achieve this target here and on the Sustainability section of our website, having this message on fan jerseys will ensure that those people who do not read our blogs (and are missing out!) know about our franchise’s commitment to sustainability. While this new messaging will be seen in the stands of our matches, on the pitch you might also notice a change. Every other team in the ILT20 will be using thousands of single-use plastic bottles to hydrate their players in this tournament. Collectively, this will have a devastating impact on wildlife. However, the Desert Vipers’ players will not be contributing to this. We’ve gone to great lengths this season to ensure that our players will not be drinking from single-use plastic bottles. Instead, we’ve got an exciting, innovative solution (keep your eyes peeled for this during our first match!), which will save us from using over 20,000 single-use plastic bottles, and bring us immense water savings (as players only take one sip and then throw the bottles to the floor!).
Switching from single-use to refillable water bottles is one way in which we’re working to reduce plastic in our team, and is one of our commitments to the Plastic Pledge, which we were proud to announce our commitment to last week. Another of our commitments is to reduce plastic from kit where possible and recycle the plastic that some kit currently arrives in. This all sounds very glamorous, but the reality is far from it. Last week, our kit arrived to our hotel in 60 boxes. While the Team Manager, Assistant Team Manager, and numerous other management staff were busy sorting out the kit into who’s is who’s, Phil Oliver (our CEO), Matt Bailey (Head of Sustainability, Strategy, and Commercial), and Ben were taking the shrink-wrapping off the cardboard boxes and separating the waste into different streams. This was quite a sight! While we’re looking for ways to recycle the soft plastics from this shrink-wrapping and the packaging for some kit, it’s currently stored in Matt’s hotel room, which is rather amusing. Such are the challenges of running a small cricket franchise sustainably, where every person counts, and you don’t know what challenges may present themselves from day to day. Still, it is all good fun for no better of a cause!
Sustainability Spotlight – SunKiss
And that’s not all on how we’re trying to eradicate plastic this season! We’re extremely proud to announce our first ever ‘Sustainability Supplier’ – SunKiss. SunKiss are a leading beauty brand, based here in the UAE, who provide a collection of clean, conscious, premium sun care and lifestyle products that not only provides the highest level of skincare, but is deeply rooted in eco-conscious principles, through using ingredients which protect both people and the planet. Their sunscreens are reef-friendly, cruelty-free, vegan, water-resistant, and help keep skin moisture-filled, while protecting people from damaging UV rays. What’s more, is that their products come in reusable, refillable, and recyclable aluminium, eradicating the need for single-use plastics.
This year, SunKiss will be providing our players with suncare products in aluminium cans, which can be infinitely refilled. This allows us to look after the wellbeing of our players, ensuring they are well-protected from the deceptively powerful Dubai winter sun, in a sustainable way. For many players and coaches, it might be the first time they have even realised that there is a sustainable alternative to suncare products which normally come packaged in the dreaded single-use plastic, so it reinforces our message about the issues of single-use plastic, and provides another solution to a problem that can be addressed, with the help of fabulous brands like SunKiss.
This area is a key one for us to address, as Dubai is one of the top 10 sunniest places in the world. This means that there are high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, so the regular use of sunscreen is essential to protect against these rays. And the problem isn’t just for the outdoors: UVA rays (which are responsible for ageing) can penetrate common glass windows found in homes, offices, and cars, so applying suncream will ensure our players are sustainably protected, whether they’re on the team coach (powered by biofuel), or the they’re out on the pitch.
