LEGENDS of world cricket will descend on the Isle of Wight to play for a special Lashings World XI against a Ventnor Cricket Club side later this summer.
As part of its 175th anniversary celebrations, Ventnor Cricket Club is welcoming the return of the Lashings to Steephill on Friday, August 15.
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The much anticipated fixture will be the first Lashings encounter since 2016.
The 2025 Lashings line up is confirmed as including West Indian legends Courtney Walsh and Sir Gordon Greenidge.
Sir Gordon Greenidge will be playing in the Lashings match at Steephill later this summer. (Image: Lashings) Sir Gordon, who has an ambassadorial role with Lashings, has fond memories of playing on the Island with Lashings and Hampshire.
Legendary radio broadcaster, Henry Blofeld, the retired Test Match Special commentator, will be the MC on the microphone.
Alongside them will be ex-England players Chris Schofield, the Lashings team captain, and Martin Bicknell, together with Bangladesh international Mohammad Ashraful, former South African test star Nicky Boje and West Indian batsman Kirk Edwards.
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The Lashings were formed in 1984 as a Kent pub team.
They have grown to such an extent that they attracted former West Indies captain, Richie Richardson, as their first high-profile player.
This led Meridian TV sports reporter, Geoff Clark, to famously declare he would eat his hat if the player ever joined the team.
Richardson’s arrival prompted a stream of famous cricket names to join the Lashings.
They included Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan; Brian Lara, then arguably the biggest star in world cricket; together with Pakistan’s Wasim Akram, South African Allan Donald, West Indian great Sir Viv Richards and Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar.
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Steephill, the home of Ventnor Cricket Club (Image: Dave Reynolds) The team has even featured celebrities such as Matt Le Tissier, Piers Morgan, and Boris Johnson.
The fixture at Ventnor’s ground dates back to 2004.
One of the most memorable matches took place in August 2007, when the Islanders beat their prestigious guests, the ‘Harlem Globetrotters of cricket’, by five wickets in front of a full house.
On that day, the match winners for Mark Whyte’s side included a 16-year-old local lad, Danny Briggs.
Briggs, now playing for Warwickshire, went on to make his England debut in 2012.
Ventnor Cricket Club will reveal more details about the event in the coming weeks.
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