Guernsey's legacy of support in North East Cricket Series

Results on the field may not have gone Guernsey’s way, but off the field, the U19 cricketers have joined with their local counterparts to leave a legacy of support to North East host communities and charities.

The 2024, six-game series moved across the North East showcasing the welcome available to international cricketers, and each region has received support from the cricketers.

Visiting Seaham Park for the first time, the two teams joined together to donate to the club’s junior section, something Ben Ferbrache, Guernsey Pathway Lead, noticed instantly walking onto the ground was a central part of the club’s work, with its dedicated junior pitch block, and off-field training nets.

Seaham Park Chairman Phil Roberts described the donation as a “massively appreciated gesture from two teams who impressed everyone at the club on and off the field.  It was our pleasure to host, and we pledge that the donation will be spent on improving our junior section’s equipment”.

In Billingham, where three matches were staged, support was again targeted into the junior section of the club and improving the safety of training on bowling machines in the club’s top-of-the-range off-field training complex.

Billingham Synthonia CC Junior Lead Tom Harper was delighted to accept the donation as a “typically thoughtful one from NUSC who know our goals to learn from everyone we work with to make our junior programmes the best we can, the safest we can, and inspiring to all kids to see cricket as their lead sport in Billingham”.
 
Alongside the cricket investments, the North East Cricket Series continued its strong legacy of donating to local charities with the choices left to the tour players in 2024.

For Guernsey, their fundraising was donated to Headway, the brain injury charity, whose vital work is carried out in both England and Guernsey.  

For NUSC, it presented another opportunity to support the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) whose expert care in January saved a member's leg, and their donation was matched by the series umpires, led by Mark Eland, supporting the training of defibrillator users in the North East by NEAS.

Ben Ferbrache, Guernsey Pathway Lead was pleased with how the series has gone, its legacy, and learning for the tourists adding “Guernsey was delighted to meet with all the local volunteers.  We thank you for your warmth of hospitality, we take back so much as to where we are with a World Cup qualifier in 2025, and how we can improve our youth pathways, like having dedicated junior pitch blocks.  We all hope our donations will make a difference in your projects, and we look forward to returning to see how they have progressed in the near future”.

John D Holland, North East Cricket Series Director was pleased to see such a strong legacy from the series adding “It makes over £1000 into community and charity projects in 2024.  Thank you to our series hosts for showcasing the warmth of hospitality international teams receive in the North East, to the NUSC players for standing up through all of the challenges to show how competitive you are on the field, and all participants I know join Guernsey’s management, in hoping our donations, will go on to make real difference”.

For more information on the 2025 North East Cricket Series contact thenortheastcricketseries@gmail.com