The launch of the Andrew Flintoff Cricket Scholarship and the Lawrence Dallaglio Rugby Scholarship was celebrated on Sunday afternoon at a charity cricket match at Edge Grove Preparatory School, in Aldenham.
Scholarship winners will receive free education at Edge Grove until the age of 13 before getting their fees paid to attend Mill Hill School, in The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, until the age of 18.
One talented young cricketer will be trained at Middlesex County Cricket Club Academy, in East End Road, Finchley, while a skilled rugby player will be supported by Saracens' academy near Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
A three-course lunch, followed by an auction and raffle, helped to raise more than £23,000 for the NSPCC. A guitar signed by the Bee Gees member Barry Gibb fetched an impressive £13,000 after competitive bidding.
An Edge Grove Select XI played The Bunbury Cricket XI, which featured the current and former England batsmen Andrew Strauss and Graham Hick, the former boxing champion Lloyd Honeyghan, John Major's son James, EastEnders star Rudolph Walker and the television presenter Nick Owen.
The schemes were set up with the help of Bunbury's celebrity cricket team founder, David English, who said: "It was a fantastic day and this is just the beginning. We had a great turnout and raised lots of money for charity. Freddie Andrew Flintoff was due to come along but the team have been doing intense training and Straussy just managed to escape. It was really good of him to come along."
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