The Carter Jonas vs COEL charity cricket match this year attracted more than 850 people to Fenner’s cricket ground – and they were entertained by former England fast bowler Devon Malcolm.
Property consultancy Carter Jonas and design and build company COEL hosted the match for first time last year to raise funds for LandAid and The Phoenix Trust.
Delighted by the success of the event, they decided to make it an annual fixture.
There was a welcoming address from Tim Jones, head of the rural division at Carter Jonas, and Alistair Rumbelow, group CEO from COEL.
The crowd also heard from Paul Morrish, chief executive at LandAid, which looks to end youth homelessness and Neil Cook, a trustee at The Phoenix Trust, a Milton-based charity that aids people with learning disabilities to gain valuable skills and take an active role in running their garden centre.
The Phoenix Trust attended the day in force, supplying and serving food and drink and hosting a stall selling their wares.
As guest speaker, Devon Malcolm entertained the crowd with his anecdotes from the past, his thoughts on T20 and reflections on his unforgettable storming 9-57 victory against South Africa in 1994.
Devon proved himself to be a good sport as to the delight of the organisers he brought along a bat to be auctioned off, which had been signed by other cricketers including Alex Tudor, Graham Thorpe, Ajmal Shahzad, Owasis Shah, Ali Brown, Simon Jones, James Kirtley, Geraint Jones and others.
Sitting down with the Cambridge Independent, Devon said: “Well as you can see, it’s a lovely cricket game here at Fenner’s and this is an annual event to support two fantastic charities.
“And as you can see also, they have a good turnout here today to support these charities, and the weather is fantastic as well.”
Devon, who retired from the game in 2001, prefaced his speech to the crowd. Would he be recounting his famous wicket haul against South Africa, by any chance?
“Yes, and probably how I started in cricket, and some very special moments in cricket,” he replied. “The South Africa test match way back in 1994, but some other notable appearances as well – and some very good stories as well that not a lot of people probably know.
“Certain things that happened in the changing room – not too much, mind! Just getting a little bit closer to supporters, because when I played obviously I was the other side of the field, so they used to only see me from afar but now I’m a bit closer, they can ask a few questions and they can take a few photographs and I personally as well can say thank you to some of these supporters for cheering us along over these years.
“Cricket is such a great sport; I’ve been out of the game for so long but I can still contribute and help, as I mentioned, to meet my past supporters and also to help out for a great cause.”
Devon, who played for three county sides – Derbyshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire – noted that he played at Fenner’s a few times.
“When we played way back in the 80s, when I first started, we normally played university sides, in pre-season games and all that,” he explained, “and this was one of the fixtures that first-class cricketers of the time would look to make sure they do well in, pre-season, because if you take a few wickets, make a few runs, that would guarantee you started the season.
“So we didn’t take these games lightly at all.”
The match itself provided a thrill for the spectators as the teams played the rapid T20 format, donning brightly-coloured kit.
COEL won the toss and sent Carter Jonas in to bat first. Carter Jonas posted a score of 121 in their allotted 20 overs.
COEL chased down the score in the 15th over with a loss of only one wicket. COEL won by 9 wickets, a welcome victory for the firm as Carter Jonas had won the previous year.
Last year, the organisers raised an impressive £14,500 but this year the fundraising tally already sits at £22,000 from sponsorship, tickets and raffle sales – plus the auctioning off of sporting memorabilia on the day.
However, Carter Jonas and COEL have not stopped with their fundraising as they are still hosting an online silent auction with a wide variety of lots to choose from.
All proceeds from the silent auction will go to the two charities and the organisers would like to encourage people to participate in bidding to help them smash their £25,000 fundraising target. To view the silent auction, go to carterjonas.co.uk/carter-jonas-coel-silent-auction.
The event also had live singing, Cantab supplied food and drink, BrewBoard brought their beer van, and Toni’s ice creams was also on site.
The Gonville Hotel allowed the fun to continue as they hosted an after party in their garden, and all of the vendors are donating 10 per cent of their turnover to the fundraising.
Close to 30 organisations supported the event including Ascot Lloyd, The Gonville Hotel, Howes Percival, City Stay Group, Hive Group, Ensors, Tees Law, First Intuition, Liquidline, KMD Wealth Management, Stantec, Barnes Construction, Green Building Design, BDB Pitmans, Grovemere Property, Cam Alarms, The Cambridge Building Society, Tom&Co, Duct Systems, Vizion Group of Companies, Cambridge Industrial Properties, Top Road, Howard Group, Excel Carpentry, Serpentine Estates LLP, and Hayfield Homes. Workplace Risk Management provided the first aid sponsorship.
[Read more: *[*Cricket match between COEL and Carter Jonas to raise funds for two ‘very worthy charities’*](https://premium.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cricket-match-between-coel-and-carter-jonas-to-raise-funds-f-9368541/)]*
Reflecting on the the day, Carter Jonas and COEL jointly commented: “We are humbled by the incredible support we have received for our charity cricket day; so much work goes on behind the scenes to host the day and we would like to thank all who have contributed to the success of the event.
“Raising funds and awareness of LandAid and The Phoenix Trust has always been our priority, however, it is a joy, to host a community event which brings so many people together for an action-packed afternoon of sporting entertainment in the heart of Cambridge. We are looking forward to a rematch in 2025!”
