Watch video of Sussex cricketers taking on England's greatest ever bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad - facing a barrage of 70mph bowls

Two Sussex cricketers have faced England’s greatest ever bowling pair.
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Toby Marriott, 28, and Jack Meacher, 24, took to the indoor nets at Lord’s - the iconic home of cricket - for the challenge of facing Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. The two amateur cricketers host a series on their YouTube channel, Cricket District, called Village vs Pro, where they go head-to-head with professional cricketers.

In this episode, Toby and Jack stepped up to the crease to survive against Anderson and Broad, facing an over each from the pair. The pair have a record-breaking total of 1,261 Test wickets between them.

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Jack put up an impressive total, scoring 9 and being dismissed once, while Toby finished on 2-2 after being bowled out twice by Anderson and Broad's brilliance.

Toby Marriott and Jack Meacher with James Anderson and Stuart Broad.  Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNSToby Marriott and Jack Meacher with James Anderson and Stuart Broad.  Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNS
Toby Marriott and Jack Meacher with James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNS

Toby, founder of Cricket District, from Sussex, said: "It was an incredible day. Anderson and Broad are both absolute heroes of ours, so to get the opportunity to make a video with them, let alone have the chance to face them, is a dream come true.”

"In typical village fashion, we remembered all of our camera equipment and cricket kit, but nobody remembered to bring a new ball, so we had to ask two of England's greatest ever players to bowl with an old ball from the lost property cupboard at Lord’s.

"Thankfully they both enjoyed the battle, and we managed to find a new ball just in time for Jimmy’s over to me. I’ll use that as my excuse for Jimmy getting me out. We were both nervous but they immediately made us feel at ease. And as you’ll see in the video, after bowling a couple of balls, they got pretty competitive and the camaraderie and banter between the two was great to see.

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"I'm used to facing bowlers at around 50-60 mph, and even though Jimmy and Broady were only bowling at around 75%, their class and skill was clear.”

James Anderson bowling.  Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNSJames Anderson bowling.  Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNS
James Anderson bowling. Picture Courtesy of Toby Marriott / SWNS

Toby and Jack launched their 'Village vs Pro' series last year when they took on one of the world's best spin bowlers, Afghanistan international, Rashid Khan. That video caught the eye of Ashes sponsors LV= Insurance, who got in touch with Toby and Jack about working on a similar video.

Toby said: "Jack and I are both keen village cricketers and our mission is to grow the game through entertaining video content and bridge the gap between the professional and amateur levels of the game.

"Hopefully this video does just that.”