FORMER England cricket captain, David Gower, is backing Southampton-based charity, Leukaemia Busters, in their appeal to raise £75,000 for new equipment.
On Friday, May 15, at the Hilton at the Ageas Bowl, the cricket legend will host An Evening with David Gower OBE in conversation with BBC South Today’s Sally Taylor MBE.
Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, David was one of the most capped and high scoring players for England at the time.
He led a victorious England during the 1985 Ashes and ended his career with an impressive record in first-class cricket – as of February 2015 he held the record of 119 consecutive innings without registering a duck in Test cricket.
Following his retirement, he is now a successful and admired presenter and commentator for Sky Sports.
The event is in aid of David Gower’s Blood Flow Appeal, raising money to enable Leukaemia Busters to replace a vital piece of research equipment called a flow cytometer – an instrument that uses lasers to interrogate and measure characteristics in leukaemia and other types of blood cells, enabling research scientists to see how individual leukaemia cells are responding to experimental and new treatments with antibody type drugs.
“You could say that this item of laboratory equipment is as vital to our research scientists as a cricket bat was to me in my career!” said David.
“The instrument is now 20 years old and is in urgent need of replacement, that’s why I’ve launched my Blood Flow Appeal.
"I hope that we can raise a substantial chunk of the £75,000 needed to purchase the latest flow cytometer model that will enable our research scientists to conduct their work that much more efficiently.
“There is no easy way to combat cancer in any of its forms and we are all dependent on the dedication and hard work of those doctors and scientists who strive to find the solutions and we hope that you can generously give your support to this charity’s lifesaving research work.”
Leukaemia Busters was set up with the aim of finding a cure for leukaemia, which claims thousands of lives each year, and is headed by Drs David and Bee Flavell who lost their son, Simon, to the disease when he was just ten-years-old.
- YOU can join David Gower and hear him in conversation as he looks back on his career whilst enjoying a three-course dinner in the refined surroundings of the venue’s brand new hotel.
There will be an opportunity for audience members to put questions to David whilst he is being interviewed by Sally Taylor.
Tickets for the exclusive event are £70 per person, to include a Pimms reception and a three-course meal, and there are also hospitality packages at the brand new Hilton Hotel at The Ageas Bowl available on a first come first served basis.
For more information, or to book, visit: leukaemiabusters.org.uk/gower, email: susanr@leukaemiabusters.org.uk or call: 023 8077 5590.
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