Royal Mail will celebrate, through special stamps, white and gold postboxes and a postmark, the England Cricket team's historic victory today.

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Representing both England and Wales, this is the first time that the England Men’s and Women’s teams have held both the ICC Cricket World Cup winners’ titles simultaneously.

This will be a unique and highly visible way to celebrate the huge achievement of both teams.

Stamp of Approval

The Special Stamp issue will feature images of both squads. Presented in two Miniature Sheets, one sheet will showcase images of the England Men’s team from their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 winning campaign while the other sheet will feature images of the England Women’s winning team from their ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 victory. Each sheet will include two 1st Class stamps, and two £1.60 value stamps and retail at £4.60.

Customers can register interest online from today at http://www.royalmail.com/cricket" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. The stamps will be on general sale from Royal Mail and in Post Offices throughout the UK from later in the summer.

Special Edition Postboxes

Royal Mail will also roll out 15 special edition postboxes at each ground used in the tournament to mark the historic achievement of both England teams, starting with a postbox outside Lord’s Cricket Ground where both sold-out finals were held. There will be a special postbox in locations of importance to the captains of both ICC Cricket World Cup winning teams, England Men’s captain Eoin Morgan and the captain of the 2017 Women’s team Heather Knight OBE as a tribute for leading their teams to victory.

A dedicated Royal Mail team will be on standby to transform the specially selected postboxes over the coming weeks. The postboxes will be painted white and feature stylised images of a gold cricket bat, ball and stumps. Decorated for a three-month period, the specially selected postboxes will be complemented by a permanent gold plaque. The plaque’s inscription will celebrate England Cricket’s historic position as joint holder of both ICC Cricket World Cup titles.

In 2012, Royal Mail painted some of its iconic and much-loved red post boxes gold to celebrate every Team GB and ParalympicsGB gold medal win during the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Royal Mail celebrates historic victories and achievements for all of the UK’s home nations as the Company did in the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The initiative is also driven by the fact that this year’s World Cup was held in the UK.

A special postmark celebrating England Cricket’s historic achievement will run from Wednesday.

Matt Parkes, Managing Director, Stamps and Collectibles at Royal Mail, said: “Cricket is truly coming home. We are delighted to celebrate the historic achievement of England Cricket and celebrate both the England Men’s and Women’s winning teams in 2019 and in 2017, giving England Cricket both titles.”

Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer said: “It is a historic achievement for England Cricket to be both the Men’s and Women’s ICC World Cup champions. We are very grateful to Royal Mail for honouring our victorious teams and paying a special tribute to the captains Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan. We would like to thank Royal Mail for their generosity.”

The History of Cricket

It is widely believed that cricket was invented during Saxon or Norman times in south east England. The first known reference to the sport came in the 16th century and cricket was initially considered a sport for children.

By the middle of the 17th century, village cricket had developed and this was soon followed by the first English county teams, The first Laws of Cricket were written in 1744.

The first international cricket match was played between the USA and Canada in 1844 and a team of English professionals visited North America in 1859 on the first-ever overseas tour. In 1909, the Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC, now known as the International Cricket Council) was founded and by 1952, seven nations were members.

The first cricket World Cup of any kind to take place was the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 1973, with hosts England lifting the trophy. The first Men’s Cricket World Cup was held two years later in England, with West Indies defeating Australia in the final at Lord’s.

The History Of Postboxes

Royal Mail’s post boxes are a much-loved part of the UK landscape. The UK was among the first countries to erect post boxes. Anthony Trollope, the famous nineteenth century author and former Chief Secretary to the Postmaster General, is credited with introducing pillar boxes to the UK, having seen them in France and Belgium.

Many of the first UK post boxes were painted green to blend in with the landscape. However, to make them more visible to the public, bright red was introduced in 1874. Red has remained the standard colour for UK boxes from then on, with few exceptions.

The postboxes will remain in use and customers will be able to post mail in these boxes as normal. Mail collections from the boxes will also be unaffected. The boxes will be repainted in Royal Mail's traditional red in due course.

The ICC World Cup venues that will be commemorated with Special Edition Postboxes

Bristol County Ground - Bristol

The Riverside Durham - Chester-le-Street

Cardiff Wales Stadium - Cardiff

The County Ground - Derby

Edgbaston - Edgbaston

Headingley - Headingley

Grace Road - Leicester

The Oval - London, Oval

Lord’s - London, St John's Wood

Old Trafford - Manchester

Hampshire Bowl - Southampton

County Ground, Taunton - Taunton

Trent Bridge – Trent Bridge

Eoin Morgan, England Men’s captain’s selected location – London

Heather Knight OBE, England Women’s captain selected location – Plymstock

[clashcityrocker]

Every neutral knows it was a victory for New Zealand.
They should paint some boxes black with a kiwi on it.