Press Launch

'Our luck is bound to run out sometime soon' is what Richie Benaud would say if The Everest Test was currently in bat. Yet again, on a day where we staged an outdoor event in winter, the sun shone on a glorious chilly day in London. With Trafalgar square bathed in sunshine, all the boys jumped through the appropriate hoops for the media to document our every move.

Credit must go to Alex and Marcus from our PR company Captive Minds who staged a wonderful event. Booking out Traflagar Sqaure for the day, we laid out the Flicx wicket that we'll be taking up with us, got the Lords Taverner's to park a couple of their buses next to the fountains, invited anybody with a camera, and got to work. There was some frayed nerves early-on, with everybody wanting to get this right, resulting in some disagreements and some tense words. In the end, I was glad it was Kinsey who was asked to bowl, as I felt like jelly just standing in the slips, and wouldn't have backed myself to land it on the strip. It makes me wonder what must go through players minds during a World Cup final or the like.

We staged another freeze in the middle, where some craaaazzzzyyyyy uni students invaded the pitch. Something that they'll no doubt retell whilst sharing a joint between 30 of them in their uni dorm, simultaneously wondering who the f*ck that fella wearing the beret in the poster on the wall is.

We then staged a couple of overs, much to the bemusement of the gathered tourists. Charlie B-N let the moment get to him somewhat by tentatively missing the first couple before blasting one through cover... and only a lucky bounce averted a PR-disaster when the ball stuck in the wheels of a pram. A few balls later and a flick off his legs sailed wide of the bus (a smashed window would have been horrible publicity), and straight into the fountain... which was a shot replayed again and again on the various news reports that day.

Meanwhile, Kirt was charming anybody with a microphone, conducting interviews (click the name to watch) with the BBC, ITV, Capital Radio, and countless newspapers. Mark Butcher and Chris Adams turned up as part of the Lords Taverners. During some friendly banter about The Ashes, Butcher informed me that Australia were now 'shit' without their superstars. I resisted the urge to comment about his horrible slips catching record and laughed along. Also there was former England bowler James Kirtley, now part of our kit sponsor MKK when he isn't playing for Sussex and brother of Hillary member Dave and cousin of Kirt. It was a day that couldn't have gone better, despite alot of us feeling a bit surplus to demands, it was still a wonderful event to witness and a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing. Personally I ended up with an interview with news ltd here - Whilst the trip got a wide range of publicity from The Guardian, The Times, The Sun, Evening Standard, Metro, and several others. I quite like the list of regional Australian papers that we were in, simply due to some of the inspired names. My fave is probably the Myall Coast Nota, whilst Dave Christie enjoys the understated Liverpool Champion. Enjoy:

Cooma Monaro Express, Summit Sun, St Marys Star, Hills News, The Stock and Land, Nambucca Guardian News, Flinders News, Adelaide Independent Weekly, North West Star, Myall Coast Nota, St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, Penrith City Star, South Western Rural Advertiser, Fairfield Champion, Blacktown Sun, The Irrigator, Parramatta Sun, Bendigo Advertiser, Liverpool Champion, The Canberra Times, Camden Advertiser. Wollondilly Advertiser, Ballarat Courier, Moree Champion, The Northern News, Macarthur Advertiser, Goondiwindi Argus

With any luck, this will help us in our pursuit of a title sponsor. So far, we have had several companies donate product, but no real cash to speak of. Of our £250,000 target, we currently sit at about £75k. If you know anybody who wants to get involved on a corporate level, send them our way!