Professional cricketers past and present were bowled over by the welcome they received at Holsworthy Cricket Club on their charity bike ride last Friday.

Members of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), have been undertaking the ‘Big Bike Ride 2’ from Truro to the Kia Oval cricket ground in London to raise money for the Tom Maynard Trust and the PCA Benevolent Fund.

PCA chief executive Angus Porter said: “This is one of the major charity events for the PCA Benevolent Fund and the Tom Maynard Trust and has been a great way of getting past and present cricketers into something where they can give a little back to the charities.”

Their five-day trip involved visits to grassroots cricket clubs along the route. Holsworthy Cricket Club gladly accepted when the PCA team approached it to be one of the first stop-offs on the tour.

The community came together to provide lunch and give a warm welcome to the riders — with Year 6 pupils from the town primary school high-fiving and cheering on the cyclists as they entered Stanhope Park.

It was a welcome break for the riders who had already travelled approximately 70 miles with a few sustaining minor injuries — but they all put on a brave face as they entered the grounds.

They had tackled problems from punctures, cramp and collisions and were all eager to take advantage of the spread of cakes and sandwiches, with a barbecue standing by to provide hot burgers and sausages.

David Fulton, journalist for Sky Sports News and former cricketer for Kent, told the Post of his experience during the first leg of the event: “It has been the toughest thing I have ever done but it was nice to see everyone in this community coming out to support us and make a fuss.

“I did unfortunately take a fall early on as I was coming down a steep hill at some speed. I hadn’t realised there was a sharp right bend at the bottom and with the roads being a little greasy in places, that didn’t help. As I applied the breaks I began to wobble a bit then accidentally clipped one of the guy’s back wheels and went straight over the front. Luckily, I had no serious injuries, just a few bruises.”

The event succeeded in allowing the riders to see the facilities available to Holsworthy and a chance to meet locals while taking the opportunity to refuel, rest and get their injuries tended to before setting off on the next leg of the journey to Instow.

Lee Daggett, English cricketer who once played for Warwickshire and Northamptonshire before becoming a qualified physiotherapist, said: “We were so lucky to have good weather after thunderstorms had been forecast. It’s been a really good day and a great opportunity for some of us to see the beautiful Cornish countryside as most of us don’t normally get a chance to venture this far down.”

The lunch was also a great opportunity for the town to show off its own cricket facilities and to display the plans for further improvements to the site.

Holsworthy mayor Cllr John Allen said: “It was a splendid occasion for Holsworthy and a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our town and the plans we have to redevelop the cricket pavilions. It has been great to see the facilities we have being used by the local children and an honour to host an event for the cricketers.

“I would like to give a huge thanks to Lyndon Piper of Piper Architecture for all the hard work he put in to making the day such a success and for the work he is currently doing for the pavilions project.”

— More on the project in next week’s Post