The Bob Willis Fund

Ron’s March For Prostate Cancer

England Cricket Seniors Walks 2026

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Ron Hedley has been a passionate advocate for prostate cancer awareness since 2017 when he joined Jeff Stelling’s March for Men to raise funds for prostate cancer research. Just a year later, in November 2018, Ron was diagnosed with prostate and bone cancer himself. Determined to make a difference, he has worked tirelessly to spread the message that this disease will affect 1 in 8 men and to encourage men to get checked.

Through his involvement with Buckinghamshire Over 60s and Over 70s cricket, Ron had a large audience to raise awareness of PSA testing. With the support of teammates, friends and celebrities including Mary Berry, Ron organised a cricket match, lunch and auction, which followed nine charity walks in Buckinghamshire. These events culminated in a final lunch attended by Allan Lamb and Mick Harford, both prostate cancer survivors. Together, these initiatives initially raised £22,000, including Gift Aid for prostate cancer research and was donated to Prostate Cancer UK.

What was originally planned as a one-off event then grew into a nationwide movement. Inspired by conversations with the CEO of Prostate Cancer UK, Laura Kirby, and Bob Willis’s wife, Lauren Clark, Ron decided to take his campaign even further. What started as “one more walk” has by the end of 2025 expanded into 43 walks across England and Wales with a walk in Malta and a cricket tour to play the St Peter’s-Vatican Cricket Club in Rome. The original aim was for each county playing Over 60s cricket to organise a walk and rally their players to join Ron in raising funds.

Ron’s Prostate Cancer Awareness XI vs St Peter’s Vatican Cricket Club in Rome, 2025

The campaign has been met with overwhelming support, and we are delighted to announce that Ron will be continuing his walks into 2026. So far, well over 1,000 people have joined Ron’s walks with The Bob Willis Fund and England Cricket Seniors. As of December 2025 over £81,000 has been raised for prostate cancer research. We extend a huge thank you to Ron and everyone who has contributed to this incredible journey, including Bedfordshire, Sussex and Yorkshire for organising a first walk in 2025.

Added to our walks we received donations from the USA Over 60s National cricket team, David Faragher running the London Marathon, Suffolk organising a T20 competition, The Malta Seniors cricket tournament and England Seniors International cricketers

Several counties have already stepped up to organise a walk for 2026, with Essex, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Surrey and Warwickshire leading the way. We hope the Counties who have yet to organise a walk will be able to in 2026 and hopefully help us reach the magical figure of £100,000. We know we are making a difference, so if your county has not yet organised a walk, please get in touch to make it happen.

We thank BBC local radio, The Silver Stumps podcast and Penn & Tylers Green Village Voice for their invaluable support by interviewing Ron and Katie Reeves (Bob Willis’s daughter) to support our campaign. Special thanks go to Roberto Perone and George Litchfield of BBC Three Counties Radio who followed the amazing trip 37 people made to Rome to spread the message throughout the Catholic Church. They even broadcast an interview with Ron live from Rome. We also thank Father Eamonn O’Higgins for his kind invitation to play cricket against The St Peter’s Vatican CC. To be invited to a Private Holy Mass in the Crypt of St Peter’s Basilica will live with us all for ever.

Father Eamonn O’Higgins in the Crypt of St Peter’s Basilica

As a final note, we are saddened to share that Berkshire CCC and Buckinghamshire CCC lost a valued team mate from prostate cancer on 26th December 2025. We are determined to make sure this does not happen to more men, in Chris’s honour.

Read all about Ron’s previous walks via our news page here

Silver Stumps Podcast

Listen to Ron talking about his walks on Silver Stumps – the Over 60s Cricket Podcast, joining hosts Grant Timms and Trevor Lee.

Upcoming Walks

Wednesday 15th April 2026 – Surrey Walk
Meet at 10am at Horsley & Send Cricket Club for a 4 mile walk, followed by buffet lunch

Friday 15th May 2026 – Middlesex Walk, Middlesex v Derbyshire at Lord’s Cricket Ground
Meet time and location TBC

Friday 5th June 2026 – Berkshire Walk (TBC)
A walk in honour of Chris Harding, who lost his life to prostate cancer in December 2025

Friday 19th June 2026 – Essex Walk, Essex v Nottinghamshire
Meet time 10:30am at The County Ground, Chelmsford. This walk is in honour of Duncan Blackie, a great supporter of the campaign, who sadly died in January 2026

Friday 7th August 2026 – Leicestershire Walk, Leicestershire v Warwickshire
Meet time TBC

For walks to County Grounds, on match days, you need to make Ron aware so he can organise your free match day ticket

To join a walk or for further information, please contact Ron Hedley at rjhatters1@yahoo.co.uk.

Money raised will go towards supporting key Prostate Cancer UK projects, including their TRANSFORM study.

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