Home of Cricket Walk in memory of Malcolm Brown is a major success

The money will be shared equally between St Clare Hospice and towards a memorial for Malcolm at Takeley Cricket Club.

Liam Brown, 29, from Dunmow, was one of the organisers of the walk in memory of his father.

Liam and his brother, Tom, have been keen cricketers since their youth and their father had always been there, often on the sidelines scoring, while they captained Takeley Cricket Club’s first team.

Malcolm was cared for by St Clare Hospice’s Hospice at Home team before his death in August 2018.

Liam said: “We wanted to raise funds for a memorial score box at Takeley Cricket Club, as my dad was the club’s secretary and dedicated scorer, but we also thought it would be a good opportunity to raise funds for a local charity at the same time."

He added: “Dad was helped by St Clare’s Hospice at Home team during the last few weeks of his life.

"But it was in his last few days that the Hospice at Home team really helped us, by explaining what was happening and keeping Dad comfortable at home. I’m so very grateful for that.”

The ‘Home of Cricket Walk’ began at 8am on Wednesday July 28 at Takeley Cricket Club and ended at Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood, London at 5.30pm the next day.

The Home of Cricket Walk group on Day One, having left Takeley (Image: The Home of Cricket Walk)

Some of the walkers en route on the 48-mile Home of Cricket Walk from Takeley to London (Image: The Home of Cricket Walk)

The Home of Cricket Walk group at the Olympic Park, Stratford (Image: The Home of Cricket Walk)

The Home of Cricket Walk outside Lord's in London, having just finished their 48-mile journey by foot (Image: The Home of Cricket Walk)

They planned to arrive at Lord’s Cricket Ground by 6.30pm so that they could take in a ‘Hundred’ game – London Spirit vs Trent Rockets. They arrived with an hour to spare.

Liam and his fellow walk organiser, Chris Thake, found that their choice of charity also helped to recruit new joiners to the walk.

Dani De’ath, challenges and events fundraiser at St Clare Hospice, said: “We’re so grateful to everyone who took on this huge feat of endurance.

"The amount that the Home of Cricket Walk has raised for us could fund more than 25 night sits by our Hospice at Home team."

The fundraising page, https://gofundme.com/f/walk-for-malc, is accepting donations until the beginning of September.