Cricket for Heroes: Brendon McCullum gives player's-eye view of charity match
Friday 18 September 2015 17:42, UK
New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum wore a GoPro camera as he captained the Rest of the World XI in their four-wicket defeat to a Help for Heroes XI in the inaugural Cricket for Heroes T20 fundraiser match at the Kia Oval on Thursday night.
Man-of-the-match MS Dhoni struck 38 and hit the winning runs with three balls to spare as Help for Heroes chased down 158 in a match staged to raise money for the charity, which offers support to men and women who have been injured while serving their country.
In front of a 20,000 strong crowd, some of the game's biggest stars took to the pitch with the teams for the night selected by England legend Allan Lamb and managed by Michael Holding, David Gower, Sunil Gavaskar and Gary Kirsten.
Andrew Strauss rolled back the years for Help the Heroes XI with 26 off 17 balls - an innings which raised £4,000 after a supporter sponsored him £1,000 per boundary - and the former England captain also took a stunning catch to remove Brian Lara for just 16.
Meanwhile, McCullum watched from the other end as Mahela Jayawardene produced a master class in T20 batting for his 48.
In all nearly £300,000 was raised for the Help for Heroes charity, with Surrey chief executive Richard Gould lauding the match a major success.
"This was a fantastic end of season party, attended by a galaxy of cricketing stars and 20,000 happy cricket fans," he said.
"To be able to have this good a time whilst raising nearly £300,000 for a wonderful cause is absolutely perfect and I would like to thank everyone who gave their time and effort to make it a truly memorable occasion."
To make a donation to Help for Heroes please click here: http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/donate/
