Inter-biz sports match raises hundreds for Banbury homeless charity

More action from the Karcher UK vs Norbar cricket match. Picture by Meciej Plonka

A cricket match between two of Banbury’s most established businesses has raised hundreds of pounds for Banbury’s young homeless charity.

Teams from Norbar and Karcher UK enjoyed a warm August evening polishing up their cricket skills in a great match in aid of the Banbury Young Homeless Project (BYHP).

The event took place at the Broughton and North Newington Sports and Social Club. Norbar won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite some excellent deliveries from the bowlers and a strong athletic display from Karcher UK, Norbar went on to achieve a competitive 120 runs from their 15 overs, losing just 3 wickets in the process.

Runs were scored by the following Norbar employees: Mike Sumner 28, Mark Turvey 8, Matt Scott 30, Craig Haupt 31, Sean Bannister 2 and there were a total of 21 ‘extras’ obtained during Norbar’s innings.

A great match between Norbar and Karcher raised hundreds of pounds for BYHP. Meciej Plonka

Next, Karcher UK were up. Norbar kept scoring options to a minimum by bowling tightly. After the slow start, Karcher UK pulled back with some excellent batting from Jon Best who scored 34 runs before being clean bowled out by Norbars’s Dan Newell. This was followed by David Ayres who scored a blistering 31 runs.

It was not sufficient for Karcher UK to beat Norbar but Karcher finished with a respectable 109 runs before they were eventually bowled out, Norbar bowlers Matt Scott, James Walton and Safder Yasin achieving two wickets each.

Both teams were cheered on from the boundary line by a small but enthusiastic crowd made up of 40 - 50 colleagues and family members and the evening concluded with the handing over of a trophy to the winners.

A spokesman for Karcher UK said: “Karcher UK and Norbar Torque Tools would like to thank the Broughton and North Newington Cricket Club for allowing the use of their ground and providing a scorer, equipment and bar, umpire Richard Harper and everyone who came along to the event and made contributions to BYHP.

The Karcher UK and Norbar teams, whose cricket match raised hundreds of pounds for BYHP. Picture by Philip Brodey

"The match, a raffle provided Karcher UK and cake sale provided by Norbar, £750 raised for BYHP - tremendous achievement by all involved.”

BYHP provides services for young homeless people aged 13-25, including support and advice on how to access housing. The organisation assists clients in reaching towards their potential for learning, education and self-improvement.