A CRICKETING entrepreneur whose festival brought through 13 current England Ashes players says he is “delighted” to have received his CBE.

Last Thursday David English, who founded the world-famous Bunbury Cricket Club, received the award he was given in the Queen's birthday honours list from Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace.

The former record label boss, who managed both Eric Clapton and the Bee Gees, said: “It was just a great day and made me feel proud to be British.

“I was there queuing behind all these Air Vice Marshals and other dignitaries, and when I went on I asked Anne if she remembered me, as I did some fundraising work for Save the Children with her years ago, and she said yes.

“She then said she knows all about the work I've done and we had a little chat about it. It was just great.”

The Nan Clark's Lane residents is just about to start his 25th season with the Bunburys next year, and hopes to top a bumper fundraising year in 2010, when they made £170,000 on a single day.

He said: “We had a match at Lords against a Jo Kinnear XI in aid of a Myeloma UK and we had a lot of City bankers in watching as we had two good teams out.

“Anyway they want mad at the charity auction afterwards and we raised so much money. We're definitely going to do it again this year.

“If someone had told me when I was a boy playing in Hendon Park I would get a CBE and be able to spend my life playing cricket with my mates and raising money for worthy causes I would never have believed it.”

Dr English said he is also looking to write a film in the coming year with Bee Gee Barry Gibb, with whom he wrote a film called Hawks.

He added he was also looking forward to the annual U15s tournament, being held at Monmoth School in Wales this summer, which has produced some of the best English players of recent years.