Quite a few years ago, the author Leslie Thomas collared me when I was managing at The Dell while he was about to move house yet again.

He was having to relinquish his post as president of the Hampshire branch of the Lord's Taveners and suggested I took it on.

He promised I wouldn't be bothered too often and, to be fair, he was right!

On the occasions I have been asked to carry out a duty for them, it has usually been handing the keys over to a brand new bus for a special school or hospital.

The Taveners, in fact, average one of these buses every week around Britain.

Freddie Flintoff recently presented the charity's 777th minibus.

Like me, he will have seen first hand just what a difference these buses make to childrens' lives.

They can be specially adapted to take wheelchairs.

In addition, specialist sports wheelchairs and soft play equipment, along with non-turf pitches, cricket bags, coaching competitions etc have been organised with the help of the money donated.

This can only be done with the help of the many sponsors involved and this last week I had the pleasure of attending the Rose Bowl.

I was interviewed during the lunch interval by Sky's Charles Colville while I received a donation from the Liverpool Victoria insurance company, which is based down in Bournemouth.

They already sponsor the County Championship and have supported the Taveners for a number of years with a scheme known as six for six.' They donate £6 to the charity for every six scored in the Championship season.

This usually amounts to just over £6,000 per season.

But this week they have added a donation of £10 per run for the top individual score in the Championship each season. Last year, for instance, that would have been Hampshire's own John Crawley's score of 311.

So this will expand their donation to around £10,000 per season and, as they have agreed to do this for the next four years, the £40,000 will buy at least two minibuses.

And because the company is based down in our area I would hope one of the buses will go to one of our own special needs organisations.