Guests at our charity dinner were joined by two faces from the world of UK cricket.
We hosted our annual cricket dinner at The Lord Hill Hotel, in Shrewsbury, and our guests of honour were Jonathan Trott and David Fulton.
Laurie said the evening had been a huge success and thanks to the generosity of the guests on the night, we raised around £1400 for our two chosen charities – the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and Shropshire Blood Bikes.
“Every year we are astonished by the support we receive from our guests, and our now annual cricket fund raising event just seems to grow more popular from year to year.
“This year’s charity total is particularly impressive and we’re sure our two chosen charities will be delighted with the donations. There was also a lively question and answer session with our special guests, and it was a great opportunity to hear their thoughts on the current state of English cricket.”
Jonathan Trott is a three-time Ashes winner, and he has also been Wisden Cricketer of the Year, and ICC Cricketer of the Year. In his England career, he notched up over 6500 runs in both test matches and one-day internationals, and played 255 first class matches.
His ODI batting average of 51.25 is the highest of any England player, and he is a loyal servant of Warwickshire County Cricket Club.
David Fulton captained his county team, Kent, and won the PCA Player of the Year Award. He played 200 first class matches with a highest first-class score of 208 not out, and scored 28 first class centuries. He fought back from a potentially career-threatening eye injury to end his Kent career on a high (155 in his final innings), and is still involved in the sport as a pundit and commentator for Sky Sports.
The cricket dinner is part of our annual initiative to raise as much cash as possible for our two chosen causes.
This year we are backing the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity – which funds and operates three air ambulances serving Shropshire, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands.
Our second charity is Shropshire Blood Bikes – an urgent volunteer service providing transportation of blood products for free to NHS hospitals across Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire.
Pic: From left, Jonathan Trott, Dyke Yaxley’s Laurie Riley, David Fulton, and Dyke Yaxley’s Marie Bramwell at the annual cricket dinner
