CRICKETERS took to the towpath for their latest fundraiser in tribute to a fallen player.

Members of Haworth Cricket Club raised £800 with their walk along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in memory of the late Ian Wycherley.

Members, family and friends spent six hours walking around 20 miles from Riddlesden to Leeds as the follow-up to a Charity Day in Mr Wycherley’s memory last summer.

The walkers were Harry Reynoldson, Jamie Rowell, Neil Rollins, Damian Rowell, Bethany Barker-Rowell, Adrian Ratcliffe, Maisie Rollins, Thomas Rowell, Lisa Gillard, Neil Bishop, Craig Ogden, Graham Bailey, and Kath, Peter and Trevor Gower.

Club members Lisa Gillard and Graham Bailey organised the canal trek, raising £800 for the British Heart Foundation.

The Charity Day had raised £1,500 for the British Heart Foundation in addition to £1,700 raised to buy a defibrillator to be placed at the club’s ground.

Haworth Cricket Club had donated cash towards the fundraising campaign, as did other local clubs which include Oakworth CC, Oxenhope CC, Hepworth & Idle CC and Baildon Running Club.

Club captain and vice captain Damian and Jamie Rowell’s partners, Nicola and Rachel, raised £50 for the appeal by walking up Scafell Pike.

Ian’s widow, friends and family were due to gather with club members last weekend to present proceeds from the events to the British Heart Foundation.

The defibrillator has been bought, and will soon be installed at the ground.

Mr Wycherley, one of the Haworth Cricket Club’s most popular members, became unwell at a Haworth second XI match at the beginning of June, and died shortly afterwards in Bradford Royal Infirmary. He was 56.

Apart from a spell living away in young adulthood, the painter and decorator had spent his whole life in the Worth Valley area.

The club organised the sun -soaked family fun day in the summer and were bowled over with the community response to the event.

The fun day began with Haworth club juniors and young visitors playing a short pairs game, overseen by coach Neil Bishop.

There were then matches involving four, eight-a-side senior sides, which competed to be the inaugural winner of the Ian Wycherley Memorial Trophy.

Ahead of the senior games, a minute’s applause was held in honour of Mr Wycherley.

Other attractions at the event included a British Heart Foundation tin can alley, bouncy castle, face painting, barbecue, cake stall, giant football card and prize draw.

Accompaniment at the event was provided by CBS Entertainments’ Chris Smith.

Afterwards, the club said it was “blown away” by the support shown.

A spokesman said: “The ground had more supporters and visitors arriving than ever and we had amazing donations from cricket clubs and fantastic prizes from local businesses and individuals. We cannot thank people enough for their amazing generosity.

“Ian would have loved every minute of the event. It was a fantastic day for a fantastic bloke and we’re all proud we could help with such a cause.

“Everything raised will go to benefit the community and the British Heart Foundation.”

The British Heart Foundation funds more than £100 million of research each year into all heart and circulatory diseases and the things that cause them.

This includes heart disease, stroke, vascular dementia and diabetes.

The charity said that although research had provided machines to restart hearts and fix arteries in tiny babies,heart and circulatory diseases still killed one in four people in the UK.