CRICKET: Former Town loanee Doughty swapping his boots for whites

The annual charity match will feature a Gloucester XI captained by Hamish Marshall and a Swindon XI captained by Jon Lewis.

As well as cricket there will be food, drink and various games for people to enjoy alongside the game.

One player who will be returning to the County Ground, but not the football stadium is former loan signing Michael Doughty.

Deacon managed to persuade the 23-year-old midfielder to play when he expressed an interest in cricket during a Swindon Town sponsorship event.

Deacon said: “I went to the sponsors dinner, we got talking he explained to me he would quite like to play if he could make it, it’s very nice of him to do that, not many people would these days.

“So from a chance conversation really, I imagine he is pretty useful because he is a natural athlete, it will be quite good fun to have him along.”

Deacon also said there is ‘no reason’ they can’t raise £10,000 for chairty on the day.

“There is no reason we can’t raise five figures on the day which would be a fantastic achievement. We are hoping to raise about £10,000 on the day if all goes to plan.

“It’s fantastic to have an event like this locally, proceeds are going to a very worthy cause, if we can have a lot of good fun and raise some serious money it will go a long way.”

Deacon emphasised this is more than just a charity match as there will be food, drink and various games such as skittles and crazy golf around the boundary.

He said: “We thought people might actually want to come down before the game and have some lunch and soak up what will hopefully be a nice atmosphere.

“People can expect an exciting game of T20 cricket, there is going to be a mixture of professional county players and very good club players that is always an interesting mix.”

Visitors will be able to park on at the football stadium before entering the club. It is £5 for adults and for U16s it is £3. Gates open at 11am.