Ashes 2005 heroes Simon Jones and Geraint Jones to appear at Sportbash 2019 cricket tournament

Ashes heroes will be appearing at a popular and long-standing cricket tournament next month.

Former England internationals Simon Jones and Geraint Jones, who were key players in the famous 2005 triumph over Australia, will be taking part in Sportbash 2019 at Ketton Sports and Community Centre on Friday, May 31.

They will be joined by other big names such as Darren Maddy, Phil DeFreitas, Alex Tudor and Mark Cosgrove.

Former England player Dean Headley, organiser of Sportbash and director of cricket at Stamford Endowed Schools, said: “I’m really pleased that these players will be coming to join us at Sportbash. It’s really good news for the area and the players are good guys.

“It will be great to have them at what promises to be a really good community event in Ketton at the end of May.

“Geraint Jones, Phil DeFreitas, Alex Tudor and Mark Cosgrove have all played previously and Simon Jones will be a good addition.”

As well as these players, two more big names are set to be confirmed soon.

Two professionals will be drawn and allocated to supplement local players who will make up the bulk of the four teams in the tournament.

These teams are the Stamford Bulls, captained by Chris Bore, Huntingdonshire Stags led by Jamie Smith, the Rutland and Leicestershire Foxes with Robin Vitas as captain and the South Lincolnshire Lions, led by Pete Morgan.

There will be two semi-finals before the winners progress to the final when the inaugural Eastern Premier Cup will be up for grabs.

This is a new tournament format where the games will be seven overs a side, based on franchise cricket that is sweeping the globe and drawing big crowds.

Last year’s Sportbash saw Dean Headley’s XI defeated by 11 runs in a twenty20 match by a Rutland and Lincs XI made up of local players.

As well as the Eastern Premier Cup, there is the BGL Kwik Cricket Cup and Plate up for grabs for both boys and girls.

There will also be activities for all the family including inflatables, archery, a batting simulator and face painting, along with a wide variety of refreshments.

The event on Friday, May 31 gets underway at 10.30am.

For more information and general admission tickets, which cost £10 plus a 75p booking fee, visit the website www.dcrevents.co.uk/sportbash.