All quite cricket for Saturday’s big match

The great English game is coming to Shelter Island.

And no, it isn’t in honor of the birth of the royal baby.

This Saturday, July 27, the Shelter Island Cricket Club (SICC) will play its annual cricket match to raise money for the Shelter Island Ambulance Corps.

The event will take place on the large field next to the Island Boatyard and will commence at 11 a.m. A second game will be played at 2 p.m. with a traditional English fete and children’s games running throughout. There will also be a junior cricket game and ‘kids Olympics’ in the afternoon.

Last year’s inaugural match drew over 200 people to support both the SICC and local Ambulance Corps. Thanks to the 2012 match, more than $12,000 was raised for the Shelter Island Ambulance Corps.

The charity match comes at a good time for the Ambulance Corps. In January 2012, the Shelter Island Ambulance Corps was transferred from the Red Cross to the Town. At the time, it was the only ambulance corps in the country operated under the auspices of the National Red Cross. Founded in 1931 by local residents under a charter issued by Herbert Hoover, who was the honorary president of the Red Cross at the time, it is staffed entirely by volunteers and costs around $100,000 a year to run the service. The thirty-or-so unpaid volunteers tend to the needs of the 2,400 permanent residents and 10,000 residents during the summer months.

David Shillingford, who moved to the US in 1998 and has spent summers on Shelter Island since 2002, organized last year’s match and is looking forward to this year’s event.

“After much conversation over the years amongst the ex-pat community about a game of cricket on the Island and a successful inaugural event last year, we are committed to making this an annual event,” he explained.

Co-organizer Gareth Jones added, “It’s great fun to do this but the best part is to have an event that allows full time residents, part-time residents and visitors to the Island to come together to support this unique community.”

Saturday’s match will also feature cocktails and food from SALT. There is no admission fee, but donations are encouraged. Bring a lawn chair and come enjoy this quintessentially English game.