Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club crushed their competitors whilst taking part in the recent Rainbow Run and won a signed and framed 150th Kent Cricket first-class playing shirt in the process.
Officially supported by Kent Cricket, The Rainbow Run also smashed its original £1,000 target ten times over.
At the latest count, donations topped over £10,000 to NHS hospital charities across Kent. The proceeds will be used to support for staff at NHS hospitals’ COVID-19 appeals.
The event took place on Sunday 17th May and it encouraged people to walk, run or cycle to fundraise for the charities.
As well as professional players, coaches and staff at Kent Cricket, community clubs from across Kent came together with the aim of covering 1,870km in a nod to Kent Cricket’s founding in 1870.
By the close of the day, the cricket community in Kent had recorded a staggering 8,268km, the equivalent of travelling from The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in Canterbury to Harare, Zimbabwe, the birthplace of Kent and Sevenoaks Vine keeper, Adam Rouse.
Whilst many took part for fun, there were also two prizes on offer for community cricket clubs to vie for:
Greatest Distance Covered was Sevenoaks Vine Cricket Club, 1,860 kilometres, who won a signed and framed 150th Kent Cricket first-class playing shirt.
Most Juniors taking part was Reculver Cricket Club, with 14 juniors who also covered a valuable 154km, winning a Kwik Cricket set.
Andy Richardson, Chairman of Sevenoaks Vine, said of the feat: “It was a great day for the club, with some wonderful engagement and brilliant banter”.
He added: “ It tells me that when we get through this, as we will, Sevenoaks Vine will be all the stronger for the experience”.
James Moss, Kent Cricket’s Community Cricket Officer, said: “It has been incredible to see the cricket community across Kent come together to support our local NHS heroes.
“We have seen efforts from clubs around the county who have supported this initiative, with some remarkable distances covered, truly exceeding our expectations.
“It’s a fantastic reflection on the club cricket network and we’d like to give a massive thank you to everyone that supported The Rainbow Run.”
Ellie Rogers, Co-founder of The Rainbow Run, said: “The total raised by The Rainbow Run has far surpassed our expectations and it was incredible to see so many people connected with Kent Cricket getting involved.
“We wanted to help get people moving and give everyone something positive to get involved with during the challenging lockdown period. As well as bringing the community across Kent closer together, best of all, we have raised over £10,000 for Kent based NHS charities to support their amazing staff through the crisis and beyond.
You can still donate towards The Rainbow Run at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/the-rainbow-run-for-maidstone-and-tunbridge-wells-charity.
