The Town Legends XI taking part in this Sunday’s benefit match for the local non-league players who were recently seriously injured in a hit-and-run incident in Newmarket will be managed by Terry Butcher and captained by Kieron Dyer. The Blues XI will play Newmarket Town at their Cricket Field Road ground (KO 3pm) after a game between Newmarket’s U14s and Town’s Elite U13s (KO 1pm).
John Wark, Jason Dozzell, Gavin Johnson, Darren Currie, John McGreal, David Wright and Simon Milton are among the other ex-Town players taking part in the main match.
Shaun Whiter, who had just joined Newmarket, had both his legs amputated, while his friend Joey Abbs, who plays for Soham Town Rangers, suffered serious injuries to his right leg after they were hit by a car as they repaired a puncture at the roadside in Dullingham Road, Newmarket.
An appeal, which can be contributed to here, has been launched to raise to raise £120,000 to help Shaun walk down the aisle and marry his girlfriend Charlotte next summer.
"We have close connections with Newmarket Town, we are opening a new development centre there in September on their brand new pitch and we recruited Steven Cahill, one of our new scholars, from there two years ago,” Town’s academy head of recruitment Steve McGavin told the club site.
"Steven's dad coaches the reserve team, his grandad is the chairman and their first-team coach, Kevin Parsons, coaches in our development centre in Cambridge, so for us it seemed like the natural thing to try and help the two players and their families in any way we can.”
Gates open at midday on Sunday with the first game kicking off at 1pm. There will be activities throughout the day with entry a minimum of a £10 donation per adult, while children can come along for free. Fans attending are being encouraged to show their support by sharing pictures on social media using the hashtag #Play4Shaun
At Sunday's game we will be holding an auction of generous gifts given to help raise money for Shaun & Joey pic.twitter.com/AGxeRgJ1nl– Newmarket Town F.C (@NewmarketTownFC) July 28, 2016