CRICKET facilities at a renowned Suffolk school have been given a timely boost thanks to a charity day complete with some special sporting guests.

Dave Gooderham

CRICKET facilities at a renowned Suffolk school have been given a timely boost thanks to a charity day complete with some special sporting guests.

West Indian cricketing legend, Richie Richardson, led the line up at Culford School yesterday alongside Australia's Jason Gillespie and England's own Devon Malcolm and Phil Defreitas.

And they were overseen by the “voice of cricket” Henry Blofeld who guest commentated on the match between the Lashings World XI and the Culford Headmaster's XI.

The charity match was held to raise money for improvements to cricket facilities at the school as well as the England Cricket Board's charity, Chance to Shine, which seeks to reinvigorate the sport in state schools.

Event organiser Sue Warren said: “Cricket is a very important at Culford and we wanted to raise money to improve the facilities, which are used by the community as well as the school.

“We were delighted to again welcome the Lashings XI and so many famous cricket names. The day has been absolutely brilliant with lovely weather, a perfect pitch and a beautiful backdrop of the school.”

In front of hundreds of people, the legendary commentator, who was born in Norfolk, oversaw the action played in the historic and stunning grounds of the school.

Culford last hosted the Lashings team in 2007 when some of the top names in world test cricket played.