Welcome to the '18 Counties' fund-raising page

Six of us - David Lloyd, Colin Bateman, Ian Todd, Alan Dracey, Tom Bateman and Jack Bateman - are planning to cycle around the 18 first-class county cricket headquarters, a trip of more than 1,000 miles, in 16 days.

Starting on September 13, we are cycling from the Brit Oval to Lord's... the long way round. Along the way we hope to raise funds for two charities that do vital work.

We are undertaking this unique venture because of our cricket connections. David and Colin are cricket correspondents at the London Evening Standard and Daily Express respectively. Toddy, the veteran of our peloton, was the Sun's cricket man before he retired. The other three intrepid riders all love the game, too.

Because of the link with cricket we thought we should raise money for two cricket-related charities and would urge you to give to both if you can.

Here, you can support Heads Up, a research programme - under the umbrella of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital Charitable Funds - devoted to tackling cancers of the throat and head. The Patron of Heads Up is Hugh Morris, the former Glamorgan and England batsman, who is now managing director of the England cricket team.

The other charity is the Laurie Engel Fund, which is helping the Teenage Cancer Trust to build a special unit at the Birmingham Children's Hospital for sick teenagers.

To support the Laurie Engel Fund please go to Colin Bateman's Just Giving page, the address of which is www.justgiving.com/colinbateman.

Donating through this site is simple and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: Heads Up will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no extra cost to you. So please sponsor us.

Many thanks for your support - The 18 Counties Team.