Two all-time cricketing greats swapped bats for clubs last week and visited Enfield as part of a country-wide golf challenge.

On Thursday, July 21, Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne competed in The Golf Challenge 2016, playing 18 holes, each in one of the 18 cricketing counties across the UK.

After starting at 6am at Rockliffe Hall, County Durham, at 11.20am their helicopter landed at Enfield Golf Club – around 15 minutes behind schedule – to play the challenge’s seventh hole, at the representative of Middlesex.

General manager of the club, Paul Beresford-Green, said they were first contacted about four or five months ago, and had jumped at the chance to host a hole.

He said: “We are in good company – they are playing a hole at Wentworth, at the Belfry, so some pretty illustrious courses. They were looking for a Middlesex club, and I am delighted they chose us. We were asked if we were interested, straight away we said yes.

“They are not just recognisable for people of my generation, growing up when Botham was in his pomp, they are still recognisable characters, even the kids are excited.

“Before going into golf club management I worked in the armed forces, including marshalling helicopters, so I know they are susceptible to the conditions. All we needed was bad weather for all these plans to fall apart, but we are very fortunate.”

In the boiling heat, both men were able to make the par-four score for the course’s 18th hole, before heading to Essex to continue their battle.