Ex-Canaries and a record-breaking rower helped to make a charity cricket match at Saxlingham Nethergate a hit.

The game raised over �300 in aid of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's Sparks4Hearts Appeal.

'Local villagers came out and supported the event and it went very well,' said ex-Canary physio Tim Sheppard, whose Sheppard's Flock team beat the Saxlingham Gents by 19 runs.

The Flock posted 157 in their 20 overs aided by 27 from big-hitting ex-Norwich star Rob Newman and 28 from Richard Hunt. Record-breaking Trans-Atlantic rower Liam Hughes, a consultant cardiologist at the NNUH, showed that he knows how to handle a cricket bat as well as an oar by making a double-figure contribution.

In January 2008 he was a member of a 14-man crew that rowed from Gran Canaria to Barbados in a record time of 33 days, seven hours and 30 minutes.

The Gents reply was dominated by skipper Richard Pearson, Nick Phelan and Howard Royce, who all passed the 25-run mark before compulsory retirement.

Another familiar face at the event was ex-Norwich City midfielder Jeremy Goss, who dropped in ahead of his Back to Bayern bike ride in aid of blind people in Norfolk.

The ride, which will see Goss return to the Olympic Stadium where he scored his famous goal in the UEFA Cup 2-1 win over Bayern Munich, begins on August 3. Ex-City striker Iwan Roberts failed to shake off a knee injury sustained in a Masters football tournament in time to make the cricket match.

A 16-strong party of Saxlingham Gents played three matches in Oxford, winning one and losing two on their 21st annual tour. Defeat in a 20/20 game with the Bodleian Library staff was followed by victory in a 30 overs match with the combined Oxford University staff. An unbeaten 36 from Tim Sheppard, aided by captain Richard Pearson (mid-20s) with good bowling from Steve Brownlow and Mark Riches produced the win. The final game against the Demi Johns – ex graduates of St Johns College – saw the Gents fail in their pursuit of a sizeable 257 target despite a doughty 36 from Pat Barrow.

'This year blue berets were the compulsory headwear which had to be worn at all times on and off the pitch,' said Sheppard. Previous themes have included fezzes, pipes, black curly wigs and glove puppets.