CELEBRITY ‘cricketers’ took to the crease and triumphed over an East Lancashire team in a charity match.

Acre Bottom cricket ground in Ramsbottom played host to stars from popular TV shows including Coronation Street, Waterloo Road and Shameless as they embraced the summer of cricket for the Ramsbottom Big Celebrity Cricket Bash.

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The celebrity team included past and present Corrie favourites such as Graeme Hawley, Colson Smith and Tristan Gemmill, as well as Waterloo Road’s William Ash, former Scotland and Blackburn footballer Kevin Gallacher and comedian Ted Robbins.

They came out on top against Ramsbottom Traders Cricket Club on Friday.

Mr Hawley, who played Corrie villain John Stape, helped organise the celebrity team and said: “We put together a great team of TV and sporting stars, many of whom can play cricket very well – although I don’t really include myself in that bracket.

“It was a wonderful event for the community and raised a lot of money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, who I have had a strong association with for over 10 years and is very close to my heart.”

The game was preceded by a junior match and followed by a contest between Ramsbottom Cricket Club and the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) Masters team, featuring former England players and Ashes heroes Dominic Cork, Simon Jones and Ryan Sidebottom.

After bowling for the winning team, Mr Sidebottom later tweeted to thank the club for a “nice welcome and a brilliant day”.

And Lowerhouse Cricket Club’s director and secretary Frank Entwistle said: “Very enjoyable day, charity wins, great effort guys.”

Catriona Tait, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research regional manager, said: “This event was the perfect excuse to take the family along for a great day and to catch some well-known faces from TV and sport batting and bowling to help beat blood cancer.

“Every penny raised from this event will help us in our mission to stop people from dying and make patients’ lives better.”