England stars pick up their pens to raise money for Cricket United
Wednesday 26 July 2017 17:22, UK
England's players will be looking to perform with bat and ball in the 100th Test at The Kia Oval - but they picked up their pens in the build-up in aid of Cricket United.
The south London ground will turn blue on Saturday - day three of the third Test against South Africa - for Cricket United Day, an annual fundraising and awareness event where Chance to Shine, the Lord's Taverners and the PCA Benevolent Fund come together to change lives through cricket.
And, as in previous years, a selection of England stars have been asked to show off their artistic flair and produce pictures of cricketing greats - the images are on auction until Sunday, July 30, with all proceeds split between the three charities: bit.ly/CUdoodles
Opening batsman Keaton Jennings has doodled England legend, Sky Sports Cricket expert and his current Chairman at Durham Sir Ian Botham, saying: "Hopefully it is going to raise a lot of money and go towards a good cause." Let's hope so, Keaton, but what will Beefy make if it?!
England skipper Joe Root opted for Graham Gooch, though readily admits he is better at batting than sketching: "There's not much likeness there but I tried to get that impressive tash across! It would be great if you guys could bid on it to raise funds for a wonderful cause."
Others include Moeen Ali's depiction of West Indies great Sir Viv Richards; Ben Stokes' image of Steve Harmison and Jonny Bairstow drawing former South Africa seamer Shaun Pollock - and apologising for how bad he thought his effort was!
Plus, James Anderson, England's leading Test-match wicket-taker with 477 scalps in his 124 Tests to date, took the opportunity to rib good pal and ex-team-mate Graeme Swann.
"Being the 100th Test at the Oval, I thought I'd draw some legends of the game," he said. "Two legendary spinners who have done fantastically well at the Oval so I've drawn Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan… I had a little bit of space left so I just put Swanny on there as well."
In the past four years, the auctions for doodles have raised over £40,000 for Chance to Shine, the Lord's Taverners and the PCA Benevolent Fund.
Full list of drawings:
Graham Gooch by Joe Root
Sir Viv Richards by Moeen Ali
Shane Warne, Graeme Swann & Muttiah Muralitharan by James Anderson
Steve Harmison by Ben Stokes
Sir Ian Botham by Keaton Jennings
Darren Gough by Toby Roland-Jones
Shaun Pollock by Jonny Bairstow
Mark Ramprakash by Liam Dawson
Fred Trueman by Stuart Broad
W.G. Grace by Gary Ballance
To find out more visit cricketunited.co.uk or email [email protected]
PCA Benevolent Fund - http://www.thepca.co.uk/benevolent_fund
The PCA Benevolent Fund help present and former cricketers and their loved ones in times of hardship and upheaval, by offering financial support, advice, counselling, and a dedicated helpline any player can call.
The Lord's Taverners - www.lordstaverners.org
The Lord's Taverners is the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to give disadvantaged and disabled young people a sporting chance. They offer sporting opportunities through a range of cricket programmes, by donating cricket kit and by providing wheelchair accessible minibuses for schools and organisations throughout the UK.
Chance to Shine - www.chancetoshine.org
Chance to Shine offer a great introduction to cricket to those who might otherwise not try the game. Over three million children in state schools across the country have taken part in Chance to Shine coaching sessions since their founding, while their Chance to Shine Street program, taking cricket to inner-city areas, is also having great success.
Watch the third Test between England and South Africa - brought to you in association with Sky Ocean Rescue - live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday.
