A Clapham-based lawyer is part of a team hoping to set a new world record by playing a cricket match atop a Chilean volcano.
The Sixes at the Summit (SATS) event aims to become the highest-altitude cricket match ever played next February, and is looking to raise £150,000 for charity.
Team-member Benjamin Barnes said the squad will face a Chilean national side in a T20 match near the summit of Ojos del Salado, at approximately 6000m.
Barnes has been vital in boosting visibility of the event, even turning to LinkedIn to fundraise.
Despite admitting a feature in the Guinness Book of World Records was a “huge personal ambition,” the 23-year-old was far more passionate about the charity aspect of the challenge.
He said: “Being able to break the record while raising funds and awareness for two very important charities is what would make the achievement truly special.
“If successful, it will certainly be a story I hope to tell my grandchildren one day!”
SATS has recruited 25 players so far for the game, which will adhere to ICC rules to qualify for the record.
The backstory
After arranging a charity cricket match in 2023, James White founded Sixes in the City to “make cricket social again”, according to Barnes.
The 24-year-old spent two years running several cricket events at British universities like Exeter and Durham, before deciding he wanted another challenge.
Barnes said: “Whitey wanted to go back to the original purpose of his company, which was to raise money.”
Two charities – Rays of Sunshine and A Day For Thorpey – will be the beneficiaries of the SATS fundraising.
Rays of Sunshine aids seriously ill children by granting them “magical wishes”, as well as providing support to UK hospitals and communities, according to their website.
Barnes’ father is a paediatrician who volunteers for Rays of Sunshine and is part of the reason for his involvement in SATS.
A Day For Thorpey is a fund run in partnership with mental health charity Mind in memory of late England cricketer Graham Thorpe MBE.
A recent BBC article featured Thorpe’s widow Amanda in conversation with Debbie Beard about the loss of their husbands from mental health battles. Debbie’s husband Matt Beard was a WSL manager who died in September last year.
The two women have united to encourage sports organisations at all levels to integrate suicide prevention into their culture with a new nationwide toolkit.
A link to the Sixes at the Summit fundraising page can be found here.
Upcoming events
In November, fellow Clapham resident Charlie Hollis, 23, will run the Istanbul Marathon alongside White in full cricket kit as part of their fundraising.
Further upcoming events include a charity ball at the Kia Oval in November, as well as an evening in the Lord’s Long Room in January next year.
You can find tickets for the charity ball here.
Previous record attempts
The current world record at 5,752m has stood since 2014. Nicknamed ‘Mt. Kili Madness,’ the match was played in a dormant volcano crater on Mount Kilimajaro.
It included players such as ex-England captain Heather Knight and former England international Ashley Giles, raising £80,000 for charity.
The first record, known as the ‘Everest Test’, was set in 2009 and took place at 5,165m in Gorak Shep in the Everest region of the Himalayas.
Featured image credit: Mateusz Walendzik via Pexels
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