England diary: Old Trafford Test benefits homeless people

England's defeat of India inside three days in the fourth Test at Manchester's Old Trafford may not have been good news for ground authorities, who lost out on two days' worth of takings and it certainly wasn't good for the tourists.

But Lancashire County Cricket Club, the owners of Old Trafford, were able to use sandwiches, initially ordered to feed all the staff and volunteers on the fourth and fifth days of the Test to provide support to local homeless people, AFP reported.

Rather than seeing the food go to waste, the club donated the sandwiches to Narrowgate Emergency Accommodation in the hope of "making a small difference" to the homeless people of the Salford area of Manchester this week.

Martin Crowhurst, project manager for Narrowgate Emergency Accommodation, based in Salford, said: "Monday was a wet and miserable day, so it was great to welcome in our homeless guests to a feast of sandwiches supplied by Lancashire County Cricket Club through the LCCC Foundation.

"We served them up with hot soup and were able to offer more as a takeaway service for the next day. This was especially significant as some daytime drop-in centres for the homeless are currently on summer shut downs.

"That night we were also overbooked, which meant we had to turn some people away, but, we could at least send them away with sandwiches."

- NEXT: No protective mask for Broad

England pacer Stuart Broad, who sustained a deep gash on the bridge of his nose after being hit by nasty bouncer from India speedster Varun Aaron, may not need a special protective mask to play the fifth Test at Oval.

According to a report in the Mirror, "It was feared he would need extra protection, but the swelling around his battered nose is reducing after he was a hit by a bouncer from Varun Aaron."

The daily also mentioned that a rival helmet company from the one Broad uses has already offered their services with a promise to provide him with a better quality helmet.

His Ayrtek helmet failed to stop the ball from getting between the peak and the grill.

Now rival helmet maker Masuri have offered Broad one of their Vision Series lids, designed to prevent his type of injury and used by several stars.

Masuri MD Sam Miller said: "Masuri does not sponsor specific players. We believe that when it comes to something as important as head protection, players should be free to choose the best helmet."