WIN, LOSE OR DRAW! Past and present England cricketers, and several cricket-loving celebrities, have turned to art to help raise money for the Cricket United charity appeal – a joint fundraising venture by the UK’s three leading cricketing charities, the Lord’s Taverners, Chance to Shine, and the PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust. The current England team have drawn doodles of their fellow professionals – not all of them entirely flatteringly – ahead of Cricket United Day this Saturday during the fourth England v Pakistan Investec Test at the Kia Oval. From today (Wednesday 10th August), the drawings are being auctioned off on eBay to raise funds for Cricket United. Supporters can bid for them by CLICKING HERE. The auction will end Sunday evening (14th August). Stuart Broad illustrated his favourite cricketer Darren Gough with a montage of his hero’s performances on Strictly Come Dancing and Hole in the Wall. James Anderson depicted former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain as Mr Burns from The Simpsons, poking fun at the Sky Sports commentator’s decision to send Australia in to bat first at the Gabba in 2002. Ben Stokes found his muse in the England head coach Trevor Bayliss, gently mocking the Australian for never having coached his national side. Steven Finn plumped for opening batsmen Alex Hales: ” I tried to accentuate his unfortunate-looking features… but there are too many of them, so the whole thing looks really ugly! I hope someone buys it and it raises lots of money for Cricket United Day.” And England’s star of the summer Chris Woakes took aim at his good friend James Taylor: ” The stumps and bat are twice the size of him. Sorry mate…” . ‘Titch’ returned the favour by drawing a picture of Woakes taking a wicket while combing his hair. Watch the England cricketers talk about their portraits: {{cutd}} Stephen Fry has also pitched in, with the QI host choosing to draw Moeen Ali and his unmistakable beard; while television presenter Davina McCall has taken a slightly different approach by drawing a cricket umpire. Meanwhile, England rugby captain Dylan Hartley and veteran broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson have sketched portraits of England cricket captain Alastair Cook. There is also a Pakistan theme with several former Pakistani players Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat and Yasir Arafat drawing their favourite players; while Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan has penned a picture of former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. Funds generated from the drawings and Cricket United Day will be split evenly between the three charities: · The Lord’s Taverners will use their share to help disadvantaged and disabled young people by providing them with a sporting chance. · Chance to Shine will raise the profile of cricket among young people in schools and local communities · The PCA Professional Cricketers’ Trust continues to help professionals and ex-professionals and their families in times of hardship and upheaval Other highlights of Cricket United Day include: · Beneficiaries of the charities’ work are forming a guard of honour for the players before the start of play. · Blue coloured stumps and bails are being used for the second year in a row. · Series sponsors Investec are changing their 4 and 6 cards to blue for the day. · Broadcasters from Sky Sports, Channel 5 and the BBC will be wearing bespoke Cricket United blue suits, provided by McCann Bespoke. Those wearing the suits include Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Michael Atherton, Mark Nicholas and Geoffrey Boycott. · Umpires are wearing a blue ribbon on their hats in support of Cricket United. · A Cricket United flag is flying on the pavilion. · Test match sponsors have turned their advertising boarding blue in support of the occasion. To bid for one or more England cricketer drawings visit bit.ly/CUdrawings – auction ends Sunday. {{ak_sharing}}
