A WINCHESTER doctor has scaled Africa’s highest mountain to play a record-breaking cricket match at 19,000 feet.

Simon Rogers, of St Catherines Road, Highcliffe, battled extreme altitude sickness and freezing conditions to climb Mt Kilimanjaro on Saturday.

The 39-year-old, an optometrist at Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital, was one of 30 cricketers who took on the Mt Kili Madness challenge, raising £65,000 for charity and setting a new world record.

The crew rolled out a plastic pitch on the ice in the mountain’s vast crater after a “gruelling” seven-day climb to the summit. Two all-star teams, including Ashes-winner Ashley Giles and former England captain Clare Connor, played a fully umpired Twenty20 match.

“It was an amazing, amazing experience,” Simon said. “It was extraordinary.

“Trying to move around at that altitude was difficult. People started out as if they were playing at sea level, but [quick single runs] weren’t going to be an option! It was a real struggle doing anything, whether it was chasing after a ball or even running between the wickets. You’re significantly short of oxygen.”

The Mt Kili Madness challenge has sparked a surge in donations for Cancer Research, Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation and Africa development charity Tusk.

But Simon said he would never try the“exhausting” challenge again.

“The actual cricket match was fun but the climb you have to do to get there is really gruelling,” he said.

“You’re walking at a snail’s pace in the dark for five hours a day.

“It’ll take a few days to feel back to normal – hopefully I won’t be too exhausted.”