Cricket Challenge raises £28k for WaterAid
Mace Group's utilities sector has hosted its first ever Celebrity Cricket Challenge and raised an impressive £28,000 for WaterAid. The event, held at the BritOval in London, saw teams from the UK water industry battle it out against each other with a complimentary Bunbury player thrown in for good measure.
The Bunbury's - the world's number one celebrity cricket team includes famous cricketers and sporting / non- sporting celebrities. Players who gave up their time to support the day included Mark Ramprakash, England cricketer and winner of Strictly Come Dancing, Paul Davis (ex-Arsenal footballer), Paul Pritchard (Essex CCC), Jonathan Batty (Surrey CCC), Darren Cousins (Essex CCC), Perry Groves (Ex- Arsenal footballer), Lou Vincent (New Zealand Cricketer) and Phil de Freitas (ex-England).
The day started well with bacon butties and glorious sunshine but it wasn't long before the typical British summer decided it was time to make an appearance.... None deterred, the players chatted and networked under the pavilion and tucked into a fantastic barbecue lunch to prepare themselves for an afternoon's play. With the rain over and groundsmen happy the pitch was ready for play, the cricket continued.
The opening of the heavens interrupted play for the rest of the afternoon, but this did nothing to dampen everyone's spirits and play continued on the indoor nets, with a gripping Balfour Beatty and Thames Water final, with Thames securing a narrow 47-2 win over Balfour Beatty's 45-2 runs. Top score of the day went to Veolia Water who scored 79-2 runs. The jovial atmosphere of the day made it a great success and all the teams managed to play on the hallowed grounds of the Oval - there were numerous comments of boyhood dreams coming true that day!
Securing an exclusive media deal with NCE has produced an excellent write-up, which will appear in next week's issue of NCE and has also been published online. To read the article please follow the link below:
Feedback from the event has been extremely positive. Here are a selection of quotes from guests who attended:
"Thanks to Mace for a splendid cricket fest. It was a fabulous day out and the effort was well appreciated and a what a great contribution for WaterAid. All the Scottish Water contingent had a tremendous day out." Chris Banks, Commercial Director. Scottish Water
"It was a superb day and everyone i spoke to had a great time." Thames Water
Head of National Fundraising for WaterAid, Alan Machin said: "WaterAid is delighted with the support we have received from Mace and the amazing £28,000 that was raised. This will have a huge impact on WaterAid's vital work. We are pleased the Celebrity Cricket Challenge proved to be such a success and provided a fantastic opportunity to bring together teams from across the UK water industry for an action packed day of cricketing prowess."
Andy Sharples, director of utilities said of the day: "We planned an informal and enjoyable day as we wanted to offer the water companies an event with a difference. The comments from those that attended confirm that we achieved what we set out to, not least raising so much money for WaterAid."
