LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 29, 2026--
Skechers, The Comfort Technology Company®, today announced the arrival of its inaugural cricket footwear line in the UK. First launched in India, the Skechers Cricket Elite style offers athletes at all levels the opportunity to experience the collection’s signature comfort and performance when they take the field.
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Skechers developed and perfected the brand’s cricket offering with insight and feedback from elite athletes and the cricket community to ensure the final product best meets the specific needs of cricketers.
Richard Parker, Managing Director, Skechers UK & Ireland, said, “Cricket has a massive global following as the second most popular spectator sport in the world, but cricket originated from the UK and has more recreational players and fans participating here every year, making this the ideal country to expand the reach of our Skechers Cricket footwear collection. The launch of the footwear is just the beginning; we have a robust plan to engage directly with elite English players and the passionate local cricket community in the months ahead.”
David Weinberg, COO of Skechers, added, “While India was the launchpad for Skechers Cricket, we always planned to grow the footprint of this collection to the UK and additional cricket-loving countries. This allows us to introduce more players to our innovative high-performance cricket shoes tailored to the unique demands of the sport. Skechers Cricket footwear expands our performance portfolio that includes running, football, basketball, golf, pickleball/padel and more products offering elite to casual athletes our signature Comfort That Performs across their favourite sports and activities.”
The Skechers Cricket Elite style features 11 adjustable metal spikes. It is ideal for players seeking exceptional traction and stability, enabling them to perform with confidence and deliver powerful movements on the field. The optimal grip helps players move swiftly and effortlessly, but stay grounded when executing powerful swings. The style also offers signature Skechers technologies for added comfort and performance. This starts with the Goodyear® rubber outsole that complements the metal spikes for additional traction, grip and durability. The lightweight ULTRA GO® cushioning midsole and Skechers Move Foam™ insole elevate the comfort through long matches while Skechers Arch Fit® technology offers extra support. Additionally, the lightweight and flexible design allows for natural foot movement.
Several elite Indian cricket players currently compete in Skechers including globally-acclaimed bowler Jasprit Bumrah—who earned the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the 2024 ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year—as well as Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Siraj, and Yastika Bhatia. After a historic five-wicket haul for India at Lord’s last summer, Bumrah donated his Skechers Cricket shoes to the MCC Museum where they are on display. Skechers is also the official kit sponsor of the Mumbai Indians men’s and women’s teams.
The Skechers Cricket collection is available now at select Skechers retail stores in the UK and online at skechers.com.
About Skechers USA Ltd. and SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.
Skechers USA Ltd. is a subsidiary of Skechers U.S.A., Inc., The Comfort Technology Company ® based in Southern California. Skechers designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Company’s collections are available in 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through skechers.com and approximately 5,300 Skechers retail stores. A Fortune 500 ® company, Skechers manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Globally acclaimed bowler Japrit Bumrah with Skechers Cricket Elite footwear.
Skechers Cricket footwear arrives in the United Kingdom with the Skechers Cricket Elite style.
HAVANA (AP) — The number of sexual abuse cases being treated at a clinic in Haiti’s capital has tripled in the past four years as gang violence surges across the troubled Caribbean country, a health charity warned Wednesday.
Doctors Without Borders said it was “alarmed and outraged” by the overwhelming level of sexual and gender-based violence.
“The extent to which numbers have increased, it has shocked us,” Diana Manilla Arroyo, the group’s head of mission in Haiti, said in a phone interview. “It is not only the numbers, but the severity.”
More than half of the patients being treated at the Pran Men’m clinic, which opened a decade ago in Port-au-Prince, were attacked by multiple members of armed groups, the charity, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said in a new report.
“Over 100 individuals were attacked by 10 or more perpetrators at a time,” it said, noting an average of three perpetrators per case.
The clinic has treated nearly 17,000 patients in the past decade, including 2,300 alone in the first nine months of last year. More than 350 of those patients are boys and men, MSF said.
The demographics of those being attacked has also changed. Prior to 2022, half of all cases at the clinic involved patients younger than 18, compared with 24% today. The number of cases in the 50-80 age range has increased sevenfold, according to MSF.
Gangs control an estimated 90% of Port-au-Prince, with many resorting to sexual abuse to instill fear, experts say.
The abuse occurs during kidnappings, territorial takeovers and to control humanitarian aid, according to MSF.
“Armed groups are using sexual violence to terrorize, control and subjugate communities,” Manilla said.
The report citied one unidentified woman, aged 53, who said she was raped by three men young enough to have been her children.
“They beat me and broke my teeth,” she was quoted as saying. “After raping me, they also raped my daughter.”
At particular risk are those living in makeshift shelters, with gang violence displacing a record 1.4 million people across Haiti in recent years, according to the United Nations.
A 34-year-old woman quoted in the report noted that young women and boys are mixed together at shelters.
“Mothers are forced to stay close because when a child begins to grow, they can become a target for rape at any moment,” she said.
Nearly 70% of people who sought help between January and September 2025 after being sexually abused were displaced, according to the U.N.
Meanwhile, MSF said its clinic is struggling to find shelters willing to accept patients, and it noted that women with children or those who are pregnant or need medical care are often rejected.
“The lack of available services leaves survivors exposed to the same risks that led to their initial trauma,” MSF said. “Without safe shelter or relocation options, MSF discharges its patients straight back into the nightmare they came from, just to see them return another day after being violated again.”
Fear over reporting sexual abuse cases persist because of ongoing stigma and a lack of faith in Haiti’s police and justice system.
Another reason for avoiding medical care is to preserve one’s life; civilians have been beaten or killed by vigilante groups if they live in a neighborhood controlled by a gang since they’re automatically associated with the armed group.
Since 2022, the proportion of survivors who sought help at the Pran Men’m clinic within three days of their attack dropped by half, from almost two-thirds to one-third, according to MSF. As a result, nearly 70% of them arrived too late to receive post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, the group said.
In addition, the proportion of patients who sought care within five days of their attack dropped by nearly half, from 72% to 41%. That meant that nearly 60% of them missed the opportunity to prevent unwanted pregnancies, MSF said.
To fight stigma, one local nonprofit organization reaches out to women using arts, theater and music, with survivors writing and talking in focus groups about their experiences in a safe place.
“They find a way to understand their own reality, their own experiences,” said Pascale Solages, the coordinator of an independent Haitian feminist group, Nègès Mawon. “It can be difficult,” she said.
MSF called on Haiti’s government to allocate more funds to free health care and services for sexual abuse survivors.
“One immediate and practical measure it could implement is a 24/7 government-operated hotline to provide confidential guidance and connect survivors to critical resources,” MSF said. “Many lack access to medical care, are displaced from their homes, and face immense barriers to finding support and rebuilding their lives.”
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Burned cars block a street, photographed from inside an armored police vehicle patrolling a gang-controlled area in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
