HOWZAT? A campaign to save a local cricket club has been a huge success.

Supporters of Broadwindsor Cricket Club - including its chairman, civil rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith - hit their fundraising target for six, raising the sum of £35,000 to purchase the land the club's ground sits on and saving the historic club.

The Crowdfunder campaign launched in 2020 raised more than the asking price, with funds left over for improvements to the facilities, which have also now been purchased. The campaign was even able to garner the support of cricketing commentary legend Henry 'Blowers' Blofeld.

The supporters were forced to take a stand after the club was served with an eviction notice by the owners of the land who intended to sell the site.

On Sunday, June 6 Broadwindsor CC celebrated closing the deal with a match between the Captain's Eleven, led by Ade Phillips, and the Chairman's Eleven, made up of players recruited on Twitter by Mr Stafford Smith.

Various donors who supported the club had earned the status of 'honorary vice-president”, and Damon Wright travelled with his 10-year-old son Jake from as far as North Yorkshire to attend the game.

Mr Stafford Smith had an ace up his sleeve and had secretly enlisted the services of former England all-rounder Chris Lewis. The former international did not disappoint, bowling off a two-pace run-up, and contriving to get himself out with premeditated panache when he had taken 67 runs off the captain’s team.

Lewis conducted a hard-fought battle with Chris Parks, and narrowly won the award for the most imaginative 'sledging' - an act of gamesmanship which sees one player jokingly insult another to make them more prone to error. The 'Broadwindsor Silver Boot' award can now be added to Lewis's collection, alongside his 1992 World Cup runner-up medal.

During tea time, the club put on a naming ceremony and revealed that the pavilion is now emblazoned with the words “The Ade Phillips Pavilion” in recognition of the extraordinary devotion the captain has shown to the club over the past five decades.

The Captains Eleven (204-6) picked up a narrow victory over the Chairman's Eleven (193-8) on the day.