GOUGH JOINS ASHES HEROES ON BIG BIKE RIDE 2 Former England pace bowler Darren Gough will be getting on his bike along with four members of England’s 2005 Ashes-winning side to raise money for the Professional Cricketers’ Association Professional Cricketers’ Trust and the Tom Maynard Trust. Gough, who played 58 Tests and 159 One Day Internationals between 1994 and 2006, will join Michael Vaughan, who led England to Ashes glory 10 years ago, Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison and Geraint Jones among 60 riders who will cycle from Truro in Cornwall to the Kia Oval in the Big Bike Ride 2. Other current and former England players who are taking part in Big Bike Ride 2 are Rob Key, Gareth Batty, Gavin Hamilton, Stuart Meaker, Ali Brown, Matt Maynard, Lydia Greenway and Heather Knight as well as former New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall. Gough had two spells with is native Yorkshire, captaining the county in his last two seasons, and one with Essex. He won television’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2005 and has since taken part in other celebrity programmes including Jump. The first Big Bike Ride in 2013 raised more than £ 200,000 for the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust and Tom Maynard Trust and another six-figure sum in sponsorship is the target for this year’s event with more than £ 36,000 raised so far. The ride will cover around 400 miles with the first leg from Truro to Instow in Devon on October 9. The following day the riders will cycle from Instow to Somerset’s County Ground headquarters at Taunton followed by legs from Taunton to Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl on October 11, the Ageas Bowl to Sussex’s TheBrightonandHoveJobs.com County Ground at Hove on October 12, ending with the final leg from Hove to the Kia Oval on October 13. The PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust, supported by Royal London, is part of the Association’s commitment to helping current and former players and their dependants in times of hardship and upheaval to readjust to the world beyond the game. The Fund also supports players and their dependants who might be in need of a helping hand with medical advice, a much-needed operation or those who require specialist advice, care or assistance. The Tom Maynard Trust was set up in the summer of 2012 following Tom’s tragic death.Its initial objectives were to try to provide low level financial support for young cricketers making their way in the game. This has now been expanded to include grants for aspiring young sports people looking for support with different aspects of their career development, education and awareness programmes, the Tom Maynard Academy at the Desert Springs complex in Southern Spain where up to 14 emerging county cricketers will benefit from specialist technical and conditioning work and a scholarship at his old school, Millfield School. To support and donate to Big Bike Ride 2 go to: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/bbr2pcabftmt/193332 For more information go to: https://www.thepca.co.uk/big-bike-ride-2.html {{ak_sharing}}
