Devon Cricket Board - Charity cricket tournament at North Devon in memory of Tom Allin

Charity cricket tournament at North Devon in memory of Tom Allin

FRIENDS and former team-mates of the late Tom Allin are hosting a charity cricket day in his memory to get the new season under way.

Allin, a former professional cricketer with Warwickshire, started his career with Bideford and was with North Devon for two years after leaving the pro game.

Allin followed dad Tony into the Devon side before going to Warwickshire and returned to the county team last season.

He died in early January after falling from Torridge Bridge on the A39 between Barnstaple and Bideford into the river below. He was 28.

North Devon’s ground in the Sandhills at Instow will be the venue for a round-robin tournament involving the host club, Bideford and Tom Allin XI,

North Devon captain Barney Huxtable will be leading his side, new skipper Paul Heard will be in charge of the Bideford team and Allin’s former Warwickshire and Devon colleague Chris Metters is putting together the other side.

Guests already lined up to play in the Allin XI include Seb Benton (ex-Warwickshire), Torquay captain Justin Yau and Brad Wadlan, the Glamorgan all-rounder who was a team-mate of Tom’s when they were at university together in Cardiff.

Three 10-overs-a-side games will be played, starting with Bideford against North Devon, followed by the Allin XI against Bideford the North Devon against the Allin XI.

Huxtable said when the cricket stops the fund-raising will start on behalf of the Devon Air Ambulance Appeal.

Allin suffered a broken leg in a car accident near Barnstaple late last year. He was treated at the scene by air-ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital.

“Tony and Beverley, Tom’s parents, are keen for any money raised to go to the air ambulance fund and we are doing our best to make it a sizeable donation,” said Huxtable.

Tom Allin was a keen horseracing enthusiast and a big part of the event is a race night in the pavilion after the matches.

Huxtable and other event organisers are still sifting through the items generated for a charity auction and raffle during the evening.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support from the cricket world and the wider sporting and business community,’ said Huxtable.

“There have been some fantastic donations and offers are still coming in all the time.’

Among the donations received are numerous signed county cricket shirts, tickets to big sporting events and a weekend away at a five-star hotel in Liverpool.

The diary date for the event is April 23.

DCB Ltd, University of Exeter Sports Hall, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QN Company Registration Number: 7024773