EIGHTEEN cricketers will be swapping sixes and fours for saddles and sores as they complete a gruelling 165-mile challenge this weekend, writes Gareth Davies.

Penarth Cricket Club's first team captain has organised the charity cycle ride which will see the amateur sportsmen travel to each of the 20 Premier League (SWPCL) cricket grounds in South Wales in one weekend.

The convoy sets off from Carmarthen Cricket Club to St Fagans Cricket Club on Saturday before looping round Newport to finish in Penarth on Sunday.

Bears' skipper Jonathan Davies came up with the idea to raise money to help the club in its debut season in the top flight of Welsh cricket as well as collecting for the Tom Maynard Trust.

Davies said: "Many of the riders met Tom through cricket so this was a great opportunity to support the trust.

"It’s not just about the fundraising - it will also bring clubs, players and the league together before the start of the 2017 season.

"Training has been tough and some of the amateur cyclists have now realised exactly how much pain they will be in during the event.

"The support we have received from the Welsh cricket community has also been vitally important."

The money raised will fund a number projects at Penarth and 25 percent of the total will go to the Tom Maynard Trust, which gives underprivileged sportsmen and women the chance to shine.

Former Glamorgan cricketer Mark Frost is among the riders as well as three other cricketers from Penarth - Rhys Morgan, Tom Sidford and Gareth Davies - all of whom played with Tom Maynard before he tragically died in 2012.

England international Matthew Maynard, former Glamorgan and Surrey star Tom's father, has pledged his support for the event and said: "This event is absolutely brilliant.

"We thank the clubs of the SWPCL for thinking of us and I wish them all the best for the fundraiser.

"If the event hadn’t clashed with my commitments at Somerset CCC then I would have definitely been on the bike myself."

When the boys roll into St Fagans Cricket Club, there will be an open-invitation quiz night to welcome them to the half-way point, starting at 7pm.