UPDATE

John and team are completely blown away by all your generosity.

The game went ahead as planned on 20th May with an ascent starting in bright sunshine and finishing on the foggy peak of Helvellyn.

The cricket community truly came together to bring the pitch and equipment to the summit and every step was worthwhile. Enjoy the photos and videos on our Instagram page, we hope that they create the same reaction as the numerous surprised hikers walking past.

The day and event has surpassed all expectations.

Thank you to all that made this happen, you're all amazing.

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On the 20th May 2024, 22 players, umpires, scorers and spectators will be climbing 3,126 feet to the summit of Helvellyn for England’s highest cricket match.

As well as 22 players, what else makes a cricket match? Stumps, bails, balls, bats, gloves, helmets, a scoreboard, boundary markers and a pitch in this case, a 120kg plastic mat which needs to be carried to the top.

The Helvellyn XI, comprising of players from Keswick, Threlkeld, Stainton, Penrith and Ambleside cricket clubs will be playing against the CMTRF Henley XI to raise money for the Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) Research Foundation.

CMT is a hereditary condition that progressively damages the peripheral nervous system, particularly the hands, feet, arms and legs. The failure of the nervous system causes progressive loss and wasting of muscle tissue, which creates significant loss of function in the affected limbs.

This gets to why are we doing this fairly ludicrous idea…

We're a group of friends who have all grown up together. Through university, life and work, we're now split across the country and don't see each other nearly enough.

One of the group is John.

John is everyone's best friend and one of those people that everyone likes. However, he suffers from a cruel infliction known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

What started as John tripping over often as a child, has spread to requiring the use of specialist leg braces to walk and significantly reduced function in his hands. The disease can take various forms and many other patients suffer some serious pain, fatigue and immobility.

There's no cure for CMT, however, the CMT Research Foundation are committed to raising funds to help treat and cure this terrible disease.

This brings us on to what could we all do to help raise some funds for such an important task.

As lifelong/tragic cricketers it was agreed that we should host the highest game of cricket in England.

This won't just be any cricket game, but the highest altitude game played in England.

Thank you for your support.