The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur hosted a first-of-its-kind cricket charity auction on Friday April 22 to raise money for the  Breast Cancer Wellness Association (BCWA). The auction was held in conjunction with the inaugural Malaysian Expatriate Charity Cricket Ashes played the day after on Saturday April 23 at the Royal Selangor Club, Bukit Kiara. The charity auction raised RM23,000, helped in no small part by the appearance of former Australian Test cricketer Jeff ‘Thommo’ Thomson, once the fastest bowler in the world.

The auction took place in César’s where the items for auction were placed along the buffet counter, overlooked by a giant ice sculpture of the famous Ashes urn. The evening commenced with drinks and canapés, the attendees included Match Patron Tunku Peter Imran and the Chief Executive Officer of the BCWA, Ranjit Kaur. Jeff Thomson, who stayed at The Ritz-Carlton, entertained the crowd with some stories from his playing days, including the truth behind David Boon’s record 52 cans of beer drunk on a flight from Australia to England!

17 items were auctioned including: cricket bats signed by former England Test captains, Sir Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan OBE, a signed print of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, signed shirts from recent World Cup Winners Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag of India, and a signed coat by Pakistani cricket legend Zaheer Abbas. A personalised cricket bat signed by Jeff Thomson fetched the largest donation of the evening with a RM13,500 bid winning this one-of-a-kind item. 

Jeff Thomson stayed in one of the Premier Suites where he was welcomed by a giant cricket bat and ball cake and personalised pillowcase complete with his initials and a silhouette of his signature bowling action.

The charity auction was followed the next day by the inaugural Malaysian Expatriate Charity Cricket Ashes, played between England and Australia, which ended in a draw thanks to rain. The auction, together with the sponsorship and donations from the match, raised RM52,000 for the BCWA.

“We didn’t know very much about cricket before this event but we are all big fans now! Thank you to the organisers and everybody involved who have raised this wonderful sum. We can do so much good to help sufferers of breast cancer with this money.” said Chief Executive Officer of the BCWA, Ranjit Kaur.

“We are delighted such a unique event was held here at The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur and we are ecstatic that we helped raise RM23,000 for such a good charity”, commented Stephen Cokkinias, General Manager, The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur.

The Charity Auction was held in César’s, Level One of The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur on Friday April 22, 2011 between 7.30pm and 10.00pm and raised RM23,000. The Malaysian Expatriate Charity Cricket Ashes was played the day after on Saturday April 23 at the Royal Selangor Club, Bukit Kiara and raised RM29,000 through sponsorship and donations. The two events were organised by Expatriate Lifestyle magazine and GO Communications with support from The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur.