THE sons of a former Southend United boss went on an 868-mile bike ride, as part of a bid to raise £100,000 for charity. Cricketers Chris and David Adams cycled between each county cricket club in England and Wales to fundraise for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

In April, their father, John Adams, 71, was told he was in remission after being diagnosed with a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in July, 2010.

Unfortunately, John missed his sons’ arrival in Essex on completing the ride, as he was attending an appointment at Southend Hospital.

He said: “I am in the wait-and-see stage of remission at the moment, so I have to attend hospital appointments every three months. But I went straight from hospital to see them in Chelmsford.”

Chris, 41, holds the title for the longest-serving county captain in Sussex’s history. He even played for England between 1998 to 2000, while his brother David , 44, played for Derbyshire, Gloucestershire and Norfolk.

The brothers are not trained cyclists so it was very tough for them to visit each of the 18 cricket grounds in just 15 days.

Their trip began at Durham County Cricket Club on October 7, and was completed on Friday, October 22, at the famous Oval ground, home of Surrey County Cricket Club.

John added: “The boys told me the lift they got when people shouted encouragement or beeped their horns.

“We have had excellent support, with many cricket clubs handing a cheque over, and one individual even donating £1500.”

Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research is investing more than £1million researching lymphoma and developing more effective treatments.

Chris and David hope their target of £100,000 will be a huge boost for the charity.

A celebration dinner was held on Saturday, with a sports memorabilia auction presented by former Labour aide Alastair Campbell, which the family hoped would boost funds.

John said: “My family have been amazing through this. From the beginning, my wife had the organisation of my pills sorted, making sure I took the right drugs at the right time.”

Anyone who wants to support the cricketers and make a donation towards Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research has been asked to go to www.justgiving.

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