Portsmouth cricket team plays from sunrise to sunset at Westbourne club as they raise thousands for charities

A team of cricket players put their endurance to the test as they played from sunrise to sunset on Sunday.

Players from Portsmouth Academics, a social team made up of staff and ex-students from the University of Portsmouth, played against each other while raising funds for Prostate Cancer UK and homelessness charity Shelter.

Club secretary Jason Manning, from Fareham, said: ‘We managed to get 14 hours of cricket in yesterday and 200+ overs.

‘The day was full of laughs and joy, and 21 players took part. We also had one umpire who did the whole day.

‘It was a great day and experience.’

Before taking a turn, the weather was kind to the players as they took on the challenge at the Westbourne Cricket Club, kicking off at 4.52am and finishing at 7.15pm.

Jason added: ‘My favourite part was seeing the sun come out at approximately 6am.

‘It was just a fantastic experience playing cricket in that setting and that early!

‘Another good moment was about 5pm. The ball had gone for six over the fence. All the players were so knackered they were all laid out on the floor. It was hilarious!

Paul McVeigh, who captained one of the teams, chose Shelter as one of the charities to be supported, while other captain Jason chose Prostate Cancer UK - a disease his grandpa has just been given the all clear from.

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Jason said: ‘We structured the day as follows: t20 match which Team McVeigh won. A 10 ball 10 over match. Then a two innings match. Team Manning won the last two chasing down 90 runs to win at 7:15. We then called it after persistent rain.

‘Big thanks goes to Tesco, Stags Head and Woodmancote, both pubs in Westbourne, and the group of kind ladies who donated dinner.’

Westbourne Cricket Club hosted the charity event for free.

So far, the players have raised £2,290 of the £3,000 target, and are asking for people to support their fundraising endeavours by visiting the JustGiving page at justgiving.com/team/SunrisetoSunset.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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