Spearing Waite recently held their annual 'Caught Out' Rounders Tournament in aid of LOROS and raised almost £3000.
In a refreshing change to the event, this year we were not caught out by the weather. In fact, the weather was so good that we even saw the break-out of 'shoeless umpiring' from some intrepid referees!
16 teams gathered at Grace Road ready to do battle for the much envied trophy, with last year's defending champions, Imperial Corporate Events, entering both a men's and ladies team in an attempt to double their chances of success.
The afternoon was played out with each team guaranteed two matches, with 5 points awarded for a win, three for a draw and one (consolation) point for a loss. The four teams with the most points (and rounders scored) then progressed to the semi-finals.
With a sun-drenched Grace Road looking more like the home of the West Indies than Leicestershire CCC, the competition was underway. The group stages saw thrills, spills (mainly at the bar), dropped catches, missed shots and even a broken stump as the teams made the most of the late afternoon sun. The highlight of the group stage was surely a thrilling encounter between BDO and HSBC, won by HSBC on the final ball of the match, which was drilled through the covering fielders for a triumphant rounder!
After a drink, a burger, a hotdog and some light maths, it was decided that the semi-finals would be Imperial Corporate Events men's team v Grant Thornton, with Mark J Rees v PwC with help from Lewis Smith of Innes England. And so, with the sun going down (having long since set on some teams' chances) the semi-finals got underway. After two thrilling games Imperial Corporate Events men's team and PwC advanced to the final.
With tension reaching fever pitch, the crowd going batty (and this writer running out of puns) the final got underway. Opening the batting, Imperial Corporate Events soon amassed a seemingly insurmountable lead and followed that up with a ruthlessly efficient fielding display to once again ensure that they took the trophy home.
Our thanks go to BDO LLP, Brett & Randall, Cambridge & Counties Bank, Delta Global Source, Fashion UK, HSBC Bank, Imperial Corporate Events, Innes England, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Magma Chartered Accountants, Mark J Rees, MHA MacIntyre Hudson, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Space Retail Property Consultants and 2XL Commercial Finance; who managed to raise just under £3,000 for LOROS.
A big thanks also goes to Leicestershire County Cricket Club for being sponsors and hosting the event, as well as Tim Wilford at Glenway Products for donating the trophies.
We hope to see even more of you next year for another afternoon in the sun! Sunshine not guaranteed.
Alexandra Gamble, Partnership Development Executive said, "It’s fantastic that Spearing Waite held this event in aid of LOROS. With so many high profile companies there it would have really raised awareness of LOROS and the work we do with terminally ill patients and their families.
"We have to raise £4.5 million every single year from the local community and we wouldn’t be able to do this without companies such as Spearing Waite, so we are very grateful to them and everyone that took part.”
Written by Spearing Waite
