Guests stump up cash for charity

Two well known faces from the world of UK cricket were special guests at a charity dinner organised by a Shropshire accountancy firm.

Dyke Yaxley Chartered Accountants hosted the event at The Lord Hill Hotel, in Shrewsbury, where the guests of honour were Marcus Trescothick and Simon Hughes.

And thanks to the generosity of more than 80 guests at the dinner, the event raised £1,290 for Dyke Yaxley’s two chosen charities – Severn Hospice and the Lingen Davies Cancer Fund.

Managing director, Laurie Riley, said: “We were once again overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests at what has now become our annual cricket fund raising event, and our two chosen charities will benefit greatly from their incredible support.

“We had an excellent turnout and our guests were very keen to hear from our two guests of honour who treated us to some interesting thoughts on English cricket and the performances of the current England team.”

Marcus Trescothick is renowned as one of England’s most outstanding batsmen and he represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. In particular, he played a vital role in the 2005 Ashes success when England upset expectations to overcome the top-rated side in the world for the first time since 1986/87, scoring 431 runs during the series.

Simon Hughes won four County Championships during his time at Middlesex, notching up 205 First Class matches, with best bowling figures of 7 for 35. He is now best known for his role as The Analyst on Channel 5’s cricket coverage.

Laurie said: “Our annual dinner is our biggest fund raising event of the year, and it’s always a fantastic opportunity for our guests to meet some of the most well-known characters from the world of English cricket. We’re already planning next year’s event, and we’re looking forward to handing the proceeds over to this year’s charities who will certainly make excellent use of the money we raised.”

Severn Hospice gives specialist care and support free of charge to families across Shropshire and Mid Wales who are living with an incurable illness. Since 1989, the team has given free care and support to more than 27,000 patients and their loved ones, helping more than 2,800 local people every year.

The Lingen Davies Cancer Fund is committed to improving cancer services for patients in Shropshire and Mid Wales by providing specialist equipment and buildings. Over the years, the charity has invested millions of pounds to improve the facilities for local cancer patients.

Picture: Marcus Trescothick (left) and Dyke Yaxley Managing Director Laurie Riley at the fund-raising dinner