Huge thank you to those that joined this year’s sell-out cricket match
For the third year running the Carter Jonas vs COEL charity cricket day took place at Fenner’s on Thursday 10th July to raise funds for four incredible charities: LandAid, The Phoenix Trust, Tom’s Trust and the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.
The first charity cricket day took place two years ago which attracted 500 people and raised £14,500.00, last year’s game saw 850 people in attendance and £28,000.00 was raised for charity, this year the event sold out of tickets with many listed on the waiting list.
We were delighted by the popularity of the charity cricket match and are proud that it has become a fixture in many people’s summer event schedule. Ex-England cricketers Monty Panesar and Devon Malcolm have been the guest speakers in previous years, England cricket official, broadcaster and former player Chris Broad took the mantle this year.
The event started with a welcome speech from Colin Brown, Head of Planning and Development Division at Carter Jonas and Alistair Rumbelow, CEO at COEL.
This was followed by a short talk from each of the charities starting with Jess Wilde from Tom’s Trust, a charity dedicated to providing psychological support to children with brain tumours, Paul Morrish Chief Executive at LandAid, spoke about their mission to end youth homelessness.
Followed by Shelly Thake, Chief Executive at Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, talking about how the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital will be a world-leading cancer research institute dedicated to improving patient lives through discovery science and ending with Neil Cook, Trustee at The Phoenix Trust, a Milton-based charity which enhances the lives of people with learning disabilities or complex needs, through a meaningful experience of work.
The Phoenix Trust took an active role on the day by hosting a stall selling their handicrafts and in preparing and serving the cricket tea to the two cricket teams at half time.
An auction was hosted at the end of the Q&A with the compere, for a cricket bat donated by The Cambridge Building Society to be signed by Chris Broad and an over to be bowled by the ex-cricketer to a winning bidder. Both lots raised significant amounts for the fundraising.
As per the previous years, the match got off to a thrilling start with the teams in coloured kits as is familiar with the T20 format, this year all the players also wore bright green socks in support of men’s mental health 8:56 Foundation .
With Carter Jonas having won the first cricket match in 2023 and COEL having won last year, this year it was all to play for – COEL won the toss and chose to bowl first. All players were battling against the heat as temperatures soared however, after a close battle Carter Jonas were declared the winners having got 145 in their 20 overs and COEL getting 125 in the chase. It’s all to play for in 2026!
We’d set a target of raising £40,000 and had already made £33,000 through sponsorship and ticket sales before the cricket day took place. We’ll be counting up all the donations and will announce the final total in early Autumn.
Chris Broad, entertained the crowd with stories of playing for England as well as speaking fondly of his memories at Fenner’s having scored his first century there in his early days as a county cricketer.
Tom Korni, a local singer, contributed to the wonderful atmosphere of the day as he entertained the crowds throughout the proceedings.
Cantab provided the food and hosted a real ale bar as well as a prosecco and Pimms bar, while Brewboard bought their beer van – both Cantab and Brewboard have given 10% of their turnover to the fundraising.
After the cricket ended, many went on to attend a post-cricket party hosted by The Gonville Hotel, with all tickets sales to the party contributing to the fundraising tally.
