LONDON – England cricketer Ben Stokes completed his first half-marathon on Tuesday to raise money for Britain's National Health Service (NHS) in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
All-rounder Stokes finished in one hour, 39 minutes and will donate the proceeds to NHS Charities Together, an organisation which represents over 140 NHS charities, as well as the national cricket charity Chance to Shine.
"That was so hard! Please donate if you can, it is all for a great cause," the World Cup-winner posted on Twitter after completing the run near his home in the north east of England.
The United Kingdom has Europe's highest death toll from the new coronavirus with more than 30,000 fatalities.
The coronavirus pandemic has also brought sport around the world to an abrupt halt, and the England and Wales Cricket Board have said they will suffer a massive financial hit should the cricket season in the country go through the entire year without any games.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/GardenMara?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GardenMarawith their efforts of raising funds for @NHSCharities and @Chance2Shine if you can please donate 🌈🌈🌈 https://t.co/ZvRmXL6XWl pic.twitter.com/AK7wcIDSR0
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38)