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Sussex wicketkeeper calls on current players to join him for charity challenge.
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Ben Brown has urged current cricketers “to just go for it” and sign up for the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust and Tom Maynard Trust.
With just three weeks to go until the challenge begins, Friday 20 October represents the last opportunity to secure your place on the Cricketers’ Trust’s biggest fundraising event of the year.
Brown is a great friend of Tom Smith, who recently revealed how the Trust has supported him in the wake of his wife Laura’s tragic passing last year. The Sussex man has therefore seen first-hand the genuine difference that the players’ charity can make to the lives of PCA members who have fallen on hard times.
We recently spoke to Brown about his motivations for taking on the Three Peaks and how he is feeling about the challenge itself.
- The Three Peaks Challenge begins in just three weeks. How are you feeling about it?
- I’m really looking forward to it. I haven’t done anything like this before and I’m really excited to join up with some new people from around the cricket circuit. Obviously it’s also for a really great cause, so it’s all positive.
- Have you found any time during the county season to do any training?
- None at all, I’m afraid. There’s not an awful lot time during the county season to be walking up and down hills. Hopefully I’ll be fine but, if not, I’ll just have to get on with it. It is a challenge after all! I guess we’ll soon find out if I am fit enough…
- Are you doing any final preparations at the moment?
- I’m actually yet to buy anything so I have a fair bit to do when the season finishes! Hopefully half an hour of dog walking per day will be good preparation because that’s all I’ve really got time to do.
- How’s the fundraising been going so far? And what plans do you have in that respect?
- It’s been really good actually! I’ve been pushing for donations for a couple of months now and I’m only £200 or so away from my fundraising target. So I’m pleased with what I’ve achieved so far but I’m yet to receive any donations from my Sussex teammates – they’re definitely going to be under pressure to donate shortly. It’s obviously a great cause for us cricketers so I’m hoping a final push with them should be enough to raise a good amount of money.
- How much are you looking forward to joining up with your good friends Ollie Rayner and Tom Smith?
- It’ll be great. I’ve spent a decent amount of time with Tom recently but I haven’t seen very much of Ollie. It’s going to be great to get back together with the guys after the end of the season and see how the boys are feeling, all whilst having a good time and doing something positive.
- Your friendship with Tom means you have a personal connection to the Trust. Why is it so important to raise money for the players’ charity?
- As you say, having that personal experience of being close to Tom and Laura and the great tragedy they went through is a bit of a wake-up call. It makes you realise that these things and real and they can happen to anyone. It’s a hugely important charity for us and the Three Peaks is a great way to get involved. I probably haven’t done as much as I could have for the Trust throughout my career so doing something in Laura’s memory is a big motivation for myself and Tom. I’m looking forward to helping out in any way I can.
- Which aspect of the challenge itself excites you most?
- Probably the end! Once we’re finished hopefully there will be some social time with good friends. It’ll be nice to have achieved something with a great group of people and have a drink or two when we come down the other side. So it’s probably the social element that I’m most looking forward to.
- Have you got any post-Three Peaks celebrations planned?
- I’m actually going to go and study for a Masters degree which is starting quite soon after the challenge. I won’t have much time to put my feet up because it’s back to school for me! It’s the same course that Luke Wright is doing – Sport Directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University. It’s really exciting to have an extra focus outside of just playing cricket.
- Last but not least, what would your message be to those who are thinking about signing up for the Three Peaks?
- You’ve got to go for it! It’s a great opportunity to do something different and ultimately you’re raising money for two causes that will make a genuine difference to people’s lives. I know for a fact that cricketers aren’t very busy in October so they should do the right thing!
Places are still available to take on the Three Peaks Challenge with both charities urging players, sponsors and supporters to sign up.
For more details on the walk click here or email Ali Prosser on alison.prosser@thepca.co.uk.
Follow @ThreePeaks2019 on Twitter for all the latest updates.
