A HOST of world renowned cricketers will descend on Bournemouth next month when Lashings All Stars come to town to take on an Invitational XI.

The T20 match will act as the showpiece of an action-packed fundraising day at Bournemouth Cricket Club on Friday, June 16.

West Indian icons Tino Best and Gordon Greenidge will line up against a team made up of local players – including a number from the home club.

Former England Test-playing luminaries Monty Panesar, Devon Malcolm and John Emburey are also set to feature for Lashings, a touring side which contests charity matches every summer.

The Chapel Gate event is the brainchild of businessman Dave Fitzgerald, who spied an opportunity to bring high-profile cricket to his home town, owing to his 'An Evening With' company’s tie-in with Lashings.

Fitzgerald told the Daily Echo: “We take cricket up and down the country and there hasn’t been a game of this ilk in Bournemouth for years. We wanted to bring a cricket day of this calibre back to Bournemouth.”

Lashings’ remarkable pulling power has seen pretty much every world class cricketer worth his salt – Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Brian Lara and Sir Viv Richards among them – turn out for the ‘Harlem Globetrotters’ of their sport.

The catalyst for all this was Richie Richardson, the mercurial former West Indies captain, who signed for what was still effectively a pub team in 1996.

While cricket fans will want to watch this current Lashings incarnation on the field, the superstar visitors will be doing their bit off the pitch as well.

The day gets under way at 11am, when local schoolchildren will be treated to a coaching academy by the international cricketers.

Lunch will then be hosted in a giant marquee. According to Fitzgerald, it is a mighty entertaining affair.

“We have a massive introduction for all the players,” he explains. “They each come into the marquee in real razzamatazz style and then they all join the guests for a three-course meal.”

The pre-match entertainment also includes fundraising games and question-and-answer sessions with a selection of the players. The first ball of the T20 contest will be bowled at 4pm, with Test Match Special’s Henry Blofeld on hand to interpret the action.

Hospitality packages are priced at £60, or £500 for a table of 10, and include lunch and a match ticket. General admission tickets cost £5, and are free for under-12s, with gates opening at 2pm.

An Evening With are also inviting businesses or clubs to sponsor different elements of the event, which will raise funds for Bournemouth Cricket Club, Macmillan Caring Locally and The Lashings Foundation.

For bookings or further information, contact Dave Fitzgerald at info@an-evening-with.co.uk or on 07846 947397, or visit eliteticket.co.uk/portfolio/lashings/.