Allianz Park the home of Saracens Rugby club is accustomed to rugby fans walking through the gates on the weekend, however Saturday 9 May saw around 1,000 cricket lovers descending to the ground. All attended to watch a charity T20 cricket match between Celebrity Cricket Club, made up of Malayalam actors from Kerala South India against UK Blasters; a team made up of members from the Malayalee community in London.
This was a perfect opportunity for Middlesex Cricket to engage with the Malayalee community as part of our ongoing commitment to engage with the wider community of Middlesex. Without any hesitation Middlesex Cricket accepted the offer of being one of the proud associate partners of the event.
Aside the cricketing action, Middlesex Cricket Board staff throughout the day was on hand to provide information about local clubs, County Club membership and to explain the work conducted by the Middlesex Cricket Trust in the county. As always, Pinky the Panther proved a huge hit with the kids too, posing for many a picture with the eager youngsters and adults alike.
The T20 Charity Cricket match was termed as the UK’s biggest charity initiative among the Keralite community and by no means was the cricketers in any charitable mood when it came to on-field matters.
Celebrity Cricket Club won the toss and put UK Blasters into bat. There was no let up from the start for the UK Blasters openers who began hitting right from the first over. Wickets did fall between intervals but the score board kept rising. Finally UK Blasters set up a stiff target of 230 for 7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. In reply Kerala Celebrity Cricket Club could not keep up with the run rate and the batsmen had to go for big hitting which resulted in wickets tumbling. Finally they were all out for 173 in 19.2 overs.
Many thanks to our own Middlesex Development Staff Sharon, Karl and Khushali for umpiring and scoring the T20 match keeping in high spirit with a big smile on their face against the bitter cold wind. So much so, that they attained celebrity status through millions of people in India watching the highlights!
The entertainment didn’t stop there; this was followed by a Gala musical concert and a fashion show to end a perfect outing for families in London.
The Middlesex Cricket Board would like to offer its sincere gratitude to Vintage Promos and all other organisers who contributed in making this event happen.
If you are interested in working with Middlesex Cricket to set up a South Asian communities programme or would like further information on the other South Asian communities’ projects that we are already successfully running, please contact Mash Mehter on mash.mehter@middlesexccc.com
