A 'barmy' shave for charity

John Williams and his friend Stuart Newman helped raise funds for the McGrath Foundation in Australia recently

A THATCHAM man has helped raise more than $1500 for charity while touring Australia for part of the recent Ashes series.

Twenty-four-year-old John Williams, who plays cricket for Thatcham and works for Camp Hopson Removals, recently toured Australia with his friend and former Thatcham cricketer Stuart Newman to see England win the fourth and fifth Ashes tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively, becoming the first English side to win a series Down Under for 24 years.

Before flying out, the pair both grew Mexican style moustaches and whilst touring with the Barmy Army, they had them shaved off to raise money for the McGrath Foundation, which was founded by former Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath and his late wife Jane to support women with breast cancer and their families.

On returning to England last week, Mr Williams told Newburytoday.co.uk about his amazing experience, which saw him and Mr Newman, a nuclear consultant from Gloucestershire, dress up for the first day of the fourth test wearing jackets, flat caps and a pipe.

Mr Williams said: “It was really good and well worth the money.”

The duo, who appeared on television several times as they were sat among the Barmy Army, also met some of the England players, including Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Graeme Swann, Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan and Paul Collingwood.

Mr Williams said: “We had a great time and it was great to see us win.

“We hoped we might as we knew Australia weren't that strong, but it was really good to see us win the series.”

Mr Williams said he hoped to return to Australia for the next series Down Under in 2013/14, while Mr Newman added that he would recommend the “incredible experience” to anyone, describing it as the trip of a lifetime.

For more photos of their trip, click on the additional pictures link below.