Sports fans queued for autographs from former England cricket captain Allan Lamb

Sports fans queued for autographs from former England cricket captain Allan Lamb during a family barbecue and fun afternoon at Hadleigh Nursing Home. A stream of families arrived from the town for the event which took place in bright afternoon sunshine on Saturday. Mr. Lamb, who played nearly 80 Test matches for England, visited the home in Friars Road ahead of his appearance in the evening at the Hadleigh Cricket Club Awards presentation.

Mr. Lamb chatted to staff, residents and visitors and signed photographs; the first six visitors received a free signed cricket ball. Signed cricket bats were two of the prizes in a raffle supporting Hadleigh High School student Maisie Button who has been raising money by making craft items to pay for her trip to Belize with other children from the school. They will be involved in projects to help villagers in the Central American country.

There was a free barbecue and garden games for children including target football, crazy golf and skittles; a bouncy castle proved very popular. Children’s entertainer Josh, from J and J Entertainments, provided disco music and lots of extra fun and games. There was also live music from local string group Trills and Frills, and a performance by Diamond Lites Majorettes. Hadleigh Nursing Home manager Tracey Burt said: “We were delighted Allan came along to help us celebrate our second anniversary. “We have come a long way since we opened on the site of the old Friars Hall nursing home and are thrilled by our glowing CQC report.

“One of our regular respite residents, Clifford Rush, is a big cricket fan and loved talking to Allan who presented him with a signed hat. “One of our current residents, Peter Swallow, is also a cricket fan and enjoyed meeting one of his sporting heroes.” Following his appearance at the barbecue, Mr Lamb was guest of honour at Hadleigh Cricket Club’s awards night which was sponsored by Kingsley Healthcare, which operates Hadleigh Nursing Home. The company’s IT and marketing director Wasantha Darshana introduced Mr Lamb at the event ahead of a question and answer session with club chairman and Radio Suffolk cricket hour host Dave Mann.

Mr Lamb recalled his Ashes’ exploits in Australia, including the experience of sharing a room and playing alongside cricket legend Ian Botham. Kingsley sponsored a new lifetime achievement award, presented by Hadleigh Nursing Home manager Tracey Burt to Roy Plumbly, a club legend who scored more than 11,000 runs in his career before taking on the role of chairman for 22 years.