NEWPORT Gwent Dragons will face South East Wales Cricket League cricketers, Usk CC in a charity match this summer.

In recent years the event has taken a brief hiatus, however this July sees the Twenty20 charity cricket match return. The Dragons have taken away two wins recently and on Sunday 16th July, the Dragons players will be making no exceptions.

Previous years have seen the likes of Welsh International Cory Hill, Rynard Landman and Angus O’Brien among others take part in the match.

The match is just £4 for adults and £2 for children and starts at 3pm. It will be followed by live music, auction and raffles.

This year money will be raised for the Matt Hampson Foundation on behalf of Ed Jackson and the Rhiannon Jade Smith Memorial Trust. This trust was set up following the death of Rhiannon in a car crash in nearby Llandevaud and will be looking to support local junior schools, PGCE students, brain injury and road safety.

Usk CC chairman Julian Smith commented: “It is a great honour to welcome the Dragons back to Usk Cricket Club.

“It is fantastic that the Dragons take time out of their busy sporting schedule to enable this popular sporting occasion to take place. The whole event is a wonderful experience and gives a fantastic opportunity to see your rugby heroes close up and in a slightly different environment.

“The fundraising part is the serious part of this venture. As the popularity of this event and numbers of spectators increase year on year then so does the effort to raise money for local charities and worthy causes. This year we hope to raise money for Ed Jackson and the Rhiannon Jade Smith Memorial Trust.”

Newport Gwent Dragons’ Head of Elite Performance Huw Bevan said: “During pre-season the boys work hard on their conditioning so it’s important to look for an opportunity to do some team building activities.

“The Charity T20 Cricket event is something that we have played in for the last couple of years and the boys really enjoyed it so it’s something that we are keen to continue!

“We have a number of players who have demonstrated that they are very good cricketers. Matches in the past have seen the likes of Rynard Landman take part as well as our Commercial Director Pete Grzonka, but I think that there are some guys who are questioning Pete on his abilities!

“Once again there are two great causes that we are raising money for so I hope that our fans come along to support us, as it will be a fun day for all who attend.”

Hospitality for the event is available from £400 plus VAT for a table of eight which includes a complimentary bar, private viewing area, company name in match programme, on-site parking and a hog-roast.

For more information about commercial opportunities and hospitality for the event contact 07833 456953.