Captain Tom Moore invited to ring Lord's bell and offer England team-talk
Captain Tom Moore has received invites from the MCC, the England cricket team and McLaren once the current coronavirus lockdown has lifted, as a result of the 99-year-old’s mammoth fundraising effort for the NHS. The second world war veteran has been asked to ring the five-minute bell at Lord’s and to visit McLaren’s Woking HQ, while England’s Test cricket captain, Joe Root, also surprised Moore with a video call, during which he invited his fellow Yorkshireman to give the side a teamtalk.
Moore has raised more than £27.5m for NHS Charities Together and the fight against Covid-19 by walking lengths of his garden. He could also be on his way to the top of the music charts with a recording of You’ll Never Walk Alone with Michael Ball.
The Lord’s Cricket Ground Twitter account said: “We cannot wait to welcome you to ring the five-minute bell at Lord’s, @captaintommoore. You are an inspiration to us all.” This followed the video call with Root, set up by the SPORTbible website as part of their Connected campaign that connects “elite athletes with everyday heroes”. During their exchange Root asked Moore to “give a team-talk to get all the lads in the right frame of mind” once international cricket returns.
Moore is a long-time motorsport fan and received a call from Lando Norris at the weekend. “I want to say a big congratulations for what you’ve achieved,” Norris told Moore in a video of the call released by his family on Twitter. “I’m sure you’ve been told many times but … from my side and everyone and McLaren we want to say a big congratulations for what you’ve done.
“It’s my honour that I get to speak to people like you, Captain Tom. You’ve achieved things that very few people get to achieve ever in their lifetime, especially at 99 years old and coming on to 100 – that’s another big achievement,” he said. “We would love to invite you, eventually, whenever you want to McLaren for a little tour – or a big tour – whatever you want, of our facility.”
Moore told Norris he would look forward to visiting McLaren as soon as possible. “Nothing would give me more pleasure,” he said. “That would be phenomenal for me to come round McLaren because I’ve been a McLaren fan for a long time.”
Having originally set out with a fundraising target of £1,000, Moore has pledged to keep on walking as long as the donations are coming in. “I’ll keep walking whatever the weather,” said Moore. “In the words of the song which Michael Ball has sung, in the rain or the fine, I’ll keep on walking.”