Lord's will turn red again on Friday, June 5, for the eighth annual #RedForRuth day, with the tribute set to return on day two of the Rothesay Men's Test between England and New Zealand. The match will once again carry a cause that has moved from a single act of remembrance into one of cricket's most visible charity days.
Since 2019, the cricket community has helped the Ruth Strauss Foundation support more than 5,000 families facing incurable cancer, train over 1,800 healthcare professionals and raise more than £4.4 million. That scale matters because the day is not just about a stadium in red; it is about a network of families and clinicians reached through cricket, and about a fundraiser that has become part of the calendar rather than a one-off appeal.
Gemma, who received support from the Foundation after an incurable cancer diagnosis, appears in this year's appeal film. She said the help made it possible to tell her children hard truths she would once have avoided, adding that as a parent she wanted to protect them from harm but learned it was okay to have those conversations because that was the right thing to do. Her experience shows why the Foundation's Family Support Service has resonated so strongly with parents who say it left them more prepared to talk to their children, with more than 83% reporting that benefit.
Yet the reach still has limits. New research with Sky viewers found that only one in eight people are aware of the Ruth Strauss Foundation, even as 81% of those who discovered it through cricket said they feel proud that the sport supports it. The gap between the money raised and the public recognition is why this year's message lands with some urgency: the charity has built real scale, but it still has to be found.
The Foundation has also recently merged with Maggie's, a move meant to combine expertise and reach so more people affected by cancer and their families can access support. Ines Thiru said the partnership gives the charity an opportunity to scale up and build on what cricket has already helped create, while ECB Chair Richard Thompson said the support for more than 5,000 families reflects both the generosity of the game and the work done every day by the Foundation. Friday's #RedForRuth will be the next visible test of whether cricket can keep turning awareness into help, not just once a year but as part of the sport's wider memory.
