England women uplifted by sports bra deal

It would be easy to dismiss the ECB's latest promotion of the England women side as a gimmick. Get three players to pose in underwear, invite a photographer along and, wham, plenty of press coverage just when - with the Ashes - cricket's getting sexy again.

But as one of the players, the vice-captain Laura Newton, says, a bra is a vital part of the women's sports equipment, just as important as a box or a thigh-guard, and so the team is grateful to the appropriately named Uplifted, the company kitting out the squad. "It provides support," she says, much like Uplifted.

The company's involvement with the sport is very recent, though - they had a brainstorming session last Thursday, realised the Ashes were on and thought the women would be perfect to front the campaign. Neither is there any money involved in the deal, but for the cash-strapped team - many of whom are students as a full-time job is difficult given their international commitments - two sports bras worth £30 each is worth being photographed for; even though they will need many more for their upcoming tour of India.

Do the women feel exploited in undertaking the shoot? "All I thought about was that the girls are going to get good sporting bras," says Nicki Shaw. But should they have to do it at all? You couldn't very well imagine Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen getting into jockstraps for no money - well, they don't need to: their salaries alone (upwards of £250,000) help. And then there are the sponsorship deals with Volkswagen and their kit manufacturers, which helps them rake in the cash.

For the women, their plight is eased by funding from the Lottery and the ECB, and they don't mind coming to Lord's for this shoot, during which they were very professional and remained patient throughout the 200 shots. Newton says: "Sometimes you get asked to speak, but this is one of those things where you think, 'Yeah, game for a laugh.'"

Such press calls may be a part of their job - but it's a job they're not even paid to do: is their goodwill as ambassadors being stretched? Newton had to arrange her parents to babysit her two sons in Staffordshire but she doesn't complain, rather she takes it in her stride: "Mum and dad just laughed," she says when asked what her parents' reaction was.

And she certainly doesn't feel as exploited as when the side did a Daily Mail shoot a year or so ago ... where the team had to dress up. "I feel more comfortable in a sports bra than I do in a dress and in heels!"