Cricketers planning a competitive match on Mount Everest have been beaten to the punch by pupils from a Bristol school.

This week a charity appeal to stage a Twenty20 game was launched in London, with fundraisers aiming to raise £250,000 for Lord's Taverners and the Himalayan Trust UK and set a world record for the highest altitude game ever played.

But they will not be the first to set up stumps on the slopes of Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

Pupils from Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School in Clifton held a spontaneous match at the same site during an expedition last summer.

The group of 22 youngsters fashioned a cricket bat out of gaffer tape and wood they found, and used piles of rocks for stumps.

And while they didn't take an artificial pitch with them or have the game beamed live to Lord's cricket ground, as the teams in April will, the boys from QEH still managed to knock up a few runs between them.

Jim Parker, the school's bursar, accompanied them on their trip, which saw them visit Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, before spending nine days trekking to Everest base camp and their impromptu game.

He said: "My son spotted the story about the April expedition in a newspaper and e-mailed it to me.

"In a light-hearted way I thought 'That's a bit of a cheek – we have already been there and done that'.

"The article refers to them playing cricket at Gorak Shep. We were there in July, and we took some photos and video of the boys playing.

"We spent two nights at Gorak Shep, trekking higher on up to Kala Patthar in the day time.

"When they got back down they decided to have a game of cricket to pass the time."

Mr Parker, 60, added: "They made a reasonable bat from gaffer tape and wood, and were so pleased with it that they brought it back with them as a trophy. We still have it at the school.

"It was very flat up there, and the boys played on a field of sand.

"Walking was quite difficult at that altitude, so even the fittest boys were out of breath when they were running between the wickets.

"It was very much a game of afternoon 'park cricket', but it was all done very competitively. There were several shots that would have gone for four."

And as the "coach" of the first cricket match on Mount Everest, Mr Parker has some advice for the teams playing in April.

He said: "Acclimatise slowly and take it easy when they get there.

"Don't always go for the big shots, but don't run between the wickets too often, as you'll tire quickly and probably run yourself out."

The teams going in April showed off their artificial pitch in Trafalgar Square earlier this week. They will head to the Himalayas and set up a full-size pitch on a plateau at Gorak Shep, 5,165m (17,000ft) above sea level.

The two teams have been named Hillary and Tenzing, after the first men to successfully climb the 8,848m mountain. They hope to raise £250,000 for Lord's Taverners and the Himalayan Trust UK.