Would-be Freddie Flintoffs from Archant Suffolk took to the wicket for a charity cricket match.

A staff XI took on a team from Ipswich Witches Speedway to raise money for Kim Jansson, one of its former riders left paralysed from the waist down after an accident in Sweden last year.

The game was organised by speedway fan and Archant Suffolk sports journalist Mike Bacon, with Evening Star editor and Society of Editors president Nigel Pickover among the team.

The game raised over £1,100 in aid of Kim but sadly for the Media XI it ended in defeat by four wickets. Archant Suffolk was bowled out off the last ball of its innings, managing 100 runs.

In response, the Witches had a magic spell up their sleeves when an East Suffolk all-rounder stepped up and hit six sixes, before retiring on 41 runs, as they team sped to 101 runs.

Although most players came away from the match unscathed, Evening Star reporter Josh Warwick found out early on why cricketers shouldn’t forget to wear a box.

An auction was conducted by BBC Radio Suffolk which raised more than £300.

Former Witches rider Lawrence Hare, who like Jansson is now confined to a wheelchair following a crash in 2002, bid highest for a signed Ipswich Town shirt.