Players take to the road to drive tsunami-relief efforts

Thatcham Town Cricket Club is organising a day of fund-raising activities to help raise money for the Asian tsunami recovery programme.

Thatcham, who play in the Thames Valley League, will aim to complete a road trip around all of the 18 first-class county grounds in one day, and will collect memorabilia, including signed photographs, at each venue to be auctioned at a later date.

Six carloads of cricketers will set off from Thatcham Town's clubhouse in the early hours of January 29 and, to complete the challenge, they must bring back photographic evidence of their visits. The auction will be held on February 4.

"We wanted to do something a little different to help generate money for the appeal," said the club chairman, Frank Bird. "Our club professional, Bradman Ediriweera, is from Sri Lanka, and has played many times at the Test ground in Galle. To see it and much of the surrounding area reduced to ruins spurred us into action."

The money raised from sponsorship and the auction will be donated to World Vision and Sri Lanka Cricket-Aid.