Hospice bowled over by £2,500 charity donation in memory of cricket-lover patient
Hospice staff were bowled over when they learned a charity cricket match held in memory of a former Walsall patient raised £2,500.
Kamaljit Singh Bains, husband of Bhavpreet Kaur Bains, died at Goscote Hospice on July 12 following a short battle with lung cancer.
The 51-year-old employment lawyer had been a member of Walsall Cricket Club for several years. His sons, Viraj Singh Bains and Arjun Singh Bains, also played in the junior and senior teams.
A poignant cricket match and family day was held in Mr Bains’s memory to celebrate his love of the sport, organised by his cousin Saranjit Singh Bains and cricket clubmates.
The match was held at Walsall Cricket Club on September 10 as part of the annual 'Dads vs Lads' cricket game in which Mr Bains had participated on many occasions before.
Amish Dudhia, Mr Bains’ friend, said: "I met Kamaljit when our sons played cricket together in the same team. We last saw him earlier this year, at the under-15s' end of season presentation evening, and he seemed fine.
"It was therefore a huge shock to hear about his diagnosis and how quickly he passed away.
"He was a fantastic gentleman who was a huge part of our community. We all miss him very much."
The charity game involved a unique scoring system that involved a match participation fee, coupled with penalties for being bowled/caught out and runs conceded.
Players also had to donate money based on how many runs they scored. The ‘Lads’ won the match in the end with the final score as Lads 166-8 to Dads 118-9.
Mr Dudhia added: "The scoring system worked well on the day and meant we raised £2,000 plus a further £500 in Gift Aid. It was an enjoyable day and one that Kamaljit would have loved to be part of. He will always be in our thoughts.
"We wanted to raise money for Goscote Hospice because of the fantastic care Kamaljit received. The staff were so kind and compassionate, we will forever be grateful. We had an initial target of £1,000 so to double that figure was a fantastic achievement."
Georgie Westley, fundraising and engagement manager for Walsall Healthcare’s Well Wishers charity which supports the hospice, said: "It was lovely to hear about the wonderful day that was arranged at Walsall Cricket Club, all in memory of Kamaljit, and we are very grateful for the amazing amount raised for our hospice."
