Fancy an evening in the company of England’s fast-bowling legend, Matthew Hoggard MBE?
The acclaimed after-dinner speaker is set to bring his own special brand of humour to the Steephill home-ground of Ventnor Cricket Club on Saturday 5th April (from 6pm).
Promising an evening of great entertainment, Matthew’s appearance is the first major event of the club’s 175th anniversary year celebrating its founding back in 1850.
Sit-down buffet meal
The event includes bar and sit-down buffet meal in the club’s Indoor Cricket Centre.
Tickets, at £35 per person, are available online via the club’s event system.
Ashes tales
Yorkshireman “Hoggy”, who represented England 93 times, was a wonderful bowler who played a pivotal role in one of the most successful periods in English cricket.
Now a huge draw for audiences of all ages, his many stories include tales of the epic 2005 Ashes-winning series – 20 years ago this summer – all delivered in his own unique style.
The first of a series of planned 175th celebrations
For Ventnor CC, which moved to its now iconic Steephill home in 1885 (then part of the historic Steephill Castle estate), the Hoggard evening is the first of a series of planned 175th celebrations.
To follow over summer are planned prestigious visits by an MCC XI (Marylebone Cricket Club, owner of the Lords ground and guardian of the rules of cricket) and a Hampshire county representative XI.
Royal gala dinner
Autumn’s finale will be provided by a gala dinner at Ventnor’s Royal Hotel.
The club intends that the celebrations will provide a fitting testimonial to its achievements of recent decades as it progressed from the Island League via the Hampshire League to the Southern Premier League Division 1 and nurtured a series of young cricketers (such as Danny Briggs – the first international player to be born on the Isle of Wight – and Adam Hose) to enter the first-class game.
See Ventnor Cricket Club’s website for more information.
Event information shared by Bill on behalf of Ventnor Cricket Club. Ed
