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28/07/2017

England Over 60 seal third victory in rain interrupted match
South Wilts CC was the venue for the final ODI and the last match of the Australian tour of 2017. Denzil Owen (Bucks) was named in the England side for his debut match.
Rain was forecast for later in the day as the Australians won the toss and asked England to bat first on a pitch which looked as if it would favour the bowlers.

After a 4 from the first ball by Foster things took a wrong turn as Ivill was caught behind in the fifth over for 3. Calvert joined Foster in a partnership of almost 50 surviving a good spell by Drescher until Calvert (19) was adjudged lbw with the score on 57. Foster (36) fell almost immediately afterwards and then Bartholomew (4) to leave England hovering at 72 for 4 with half the overs gone. Punchard was back in the pavilion for 20 and shortly afterwards the first rain arrived making the players seek the sanctuary of the dressing room and tea.
Harsham fell soon after the restart and it was left to Walwyn and Courtney (30) to push England to some sort of respectability with a stand of 62 and a final over surge from Walwyn (61 no from 54 balls) lifted the score to 190 for 7 at the end of the allotted overs. This looked a par score for the conditions but with rain around someone with expertise in DLS was being sought to deal with the calculations if they were required!

After the break the Australian guys set off at a rate to try and make sure they were ahead of any DLS calculations if further rain arrived. They had reached 56 before the first wicket fell but then lost a further four wickets (one to a brilliant diving catch by Belletty off Harsham) before the score had reached 70 putting England ahead of the game after 30 overs with the score on 87 for 5. Staple had bowled his 10 overs and taken 3 for 20 in an excellent spell which kept the Australians in check. Rain intervened for a period and following a hasty review of the time (and calculations!) the Umpires indicated 42 overs was the maximum for the Australian innings.
The rain was still in the air and the Umpires were minded to abandon the match but both captains agreed to try one further time for a result with a revised target of 173 to win from the 42 overs. A partnership of 48 pushed the Aussies closer to victory as the drizzle began to fall once more. When the dangerous Drescher fell for 2 to a good catch by Harsham to make the score 124 for 7 off 37 the Aussies were 29 runs behind par on DLS. The busy Simon Lyon came to crease and suddenly England’s fielding looked frail with some missed opportunities and miss-fields leaking runs. John Courtney had bowled a good spell but without taking a wicket then (Denzil Owen (1 for 22 from 7) and Marcus Young (2 for 40 from 8) were entrusted with the final overs to try and seal victory – Owen took the wicket of Lyon leaving the Australians 155 for 8 (14 runs adrift of a par score).
Young bowled the final over in heavy drizzle and restricted the Australian batsmen to 164 for 8 so England ended up victors by 9 runs against the revised target of 173.
A thrilling game between two evenly match sides played in a great spirit (but not very pleasant weather!) as England win the series 3-0.

An excellent gala dinner followed the match with approximately 100 people in attendance. Both Captains praised the excellent work done by Tim and Anna Mynott (and the South Wilts CC) together with the umpires, scorers and members on duty at the ground who were enthusiastically moving covers on and off to try and allow a conclusion to be reached.
England captain John Foster thanked everyone who had been involved in the tour and in particular the players (including the many wives and partners) who made up the England squad. Each of these had given much time, effort and no little cost in making themselves available for each match. Everyone had played their part and supported each other throughout the series.
Murray Harrison the Australian skipper expressed his thanks to all those clubs and organisations who had contributed to a most memorable tour with the hospitality shown by all the host organisations the leading factor in making the tour such a success. Over 60 cricket in Australia is moving and in the future will be supported by an Over 50 organisation to help bring new ‘young’ players into the fold. He praised the organisation of the England Over 60 squad and looked forward to future series whether they be in this country or Australia.
Following the speeches, the stumps and bails (provided by Hawk Cricket) were auctioned and the proceeds combined with players ‘fines’ from both squads to raise a magnificent £736 for cancer charities.

 

 

24/07/2017

Walwyn stars as England retain the Ashes!

Forecast rain did not materialise as England faced Australia at Kidderminster in the second of the ODI series – England won the first match so were hoping to clinch the series on the day.
England made one change from the first match with Marcus Young (Essex) making his debut. On a bright sunny morning skipper Foster won the toss and asked Australia to bat hoping for some early movement from the moist air left over from some overnight rain.
Rupert Staple and Keith Harsham started and both bowled magnificently beating the bat a number of times – Harsham took the first wicket and could have had two more but for some missed chances. Gaskell and Harrison, both naturally attacking batsmen, were pinned down by some accurate seam bowling which saw the scoring rate barely over 2 an over for the first 20 overs. Ivill and Punchard replace the two opening bowlers and continued to keep the runs in check until Gaskell fell to a good return catch by Punchard.
With the score at 50 two wickets fell in quick succession – Murray caught by Caunce and then Lanigan lbw – both to Ivill leaving the Aussies tottering at 50 for 4 from 23 overs with Quinn and Drescher at the crease. They began a rebuilding exercise, accumulating runs steadily without too many risks. Drescher profited from a missed chance but he eventually fell bowled by Courtney for 36 leaving the Australians 120 for 5 from 38 overs. Courtney continued to tie the batsmen down and eventually finished a great spell of 10 overs with 1 for 21.
Young came into the attack and took two wickets as the Australian batsmen tried to up the tempo with Quinn providing the main threat. The innings closed on 201 for 7 from the 50 overs as he managed to farm the bowling. The Australians scored 50 off the last five overs (including 30 from the final two) to give the Aussies a chance on a pitch which was still providing some assistance to the bowlers.

Foster and Caunce opened for England but the partnership was broken early as Caunce fell lbw to left arm spinner Mike Kettle. Calvert came to the crease to join Foster and the pair took the score to 51 before Calvert was caught behind for 14 to be followed almost immediately by Punchard for a single leaving England 53 for 3 after 17 overs.
Bartholomew and Foster set about recovering the situation and began to rebuild carefully with some quick singles and the odd boundary putting on over 50 before Bartholomew was taken at cover for an excellent 36 which included a huge six. Skipper Foster dug in to play the anchor role as he was joined by Walwyn – nudging the score forward to close the gap and trying to meet the rate which had risen to almost six an over from the final 15 overs. Another 50 partnership followed until Foster was out for 67 with 33 needed from 6 overs and a tight finish in prospect. This did not materialise as Walwyn then took the attack to the Aussie bowlers score 27 from his last 7 deliveries sealing victory and the Ashes with four overs to spare.
Another great game of cricket with two strong teams pushing each other the limit.
A dinner was held after the match with thanks expressed to Worcestershire Cricket Board and Kidderminster CC for staging the game on an excellent ground. Gregg Quinn was awarded MoM for Australia for his innings and some tidy keeping whilst Murphy Walwyn received the award for England for his 56 from 39 deliveries on a day when they were only two batsmen who came to terms with the conditions which favoured the bowlers.
England retained the Ashes, leading the three match series 2-0. The final match (and the last match of the tour) will be played at South Wilts CC on Friday 28th July

England 60+ vs Australia 60+ - 1st ODI - 16th July 2017 at Blackpool CC

The first ODI ‘Test’ of the 2017 tour took place at Blackpool CC on Sunday 16 July on a lovely ‘English’ summer day – warm sunshine with a breeze. The National Anthems sounded like the two teams hadn;t practised enough so both must do better next time!

England won the toss and elected to field hoping that the early green tinge to the pitch would bring some movement. It was not to be the Australian openers started confidently but were pegged back by some tight bowling from Staple and Harsham.
The score had reached only 56 after 20 overs and the first wicket fell at 88 in the 26th over when Bartholomew bowled Russell. Phil Drescher was promoted to try and boost the run rate and did so for a short time before he fell for 21.
Bartholomew, Stafford Courtney and Ivill bowled steadily for England whilst Gaskell continued to accumulate runs for Australia. Ivill was unlucky to have two catches put down, and Courtney took two wickets (and had a couple dropped) as the Australian batsmen tried to increase the run rate.
The introduction of Punchard slowed things further and his nagging hanging deliveries accounted for four batsmen including Gaskell who eventually fell for 80 and the Australian innings closed on 191 in the final over.
A testing score no doubt as the pitch was showing increasing signs of wear and tear with some deliveries turning and bouncing.

After tea Caunce and Foster began the England reply but their partnership was brief as Caunce fell early for a single. Foster and Calvert steadied the ship and took the score to 46 before the skipper was bowled for 28 in the 14th over.
Punchard and Calvert continued to accumulate runs steadily until Calvert was adjudged LBW with the score on 82 and thereafter each of the batsmen got starts but were unable to take control. Bartholomew fell for 20, Punchard for 41 and Stafford for 11.
Walwyn held firm scoring at a good rate to keep England in the hunt. 48 runs were required from the last 10 over and then 6 from the final two. Staple went after a brief flurry then Walwyn with just a single required for victory. Harsham joined Ivill in the middle and the run was secured with three balls to spare.
A thrilling finish enjoyed by the large appreciative Blackpool crowd who had also enjoyed large quantities of beer! Food in the pavilion was followed by speeches giving thanks to all those who made the game possible the umpires scorers, Blackpool CC and of course the groundsman who was asked if he could bring the boundary in forty yards on the one side next time so there weren't too many all run fours!

Australia continue their tour with the next match against Cheshire and meet England again at Kidderminster on 23 July.

05/07/2017

The 2017 England Over 60 squad together with reserves enjoyed a day at Banbury 20 cricket club on 2 July on the day when the Australian tourists were due to arrive in the UK. All the players played their parts in a training match which saw everyone contribute and enjoy the day.
Many runs were scored and may wickets taken on a day which allowed the squad to mix and find out a little more about each other. Many thanks to Banbury 20 CC for hosting the session and to Maggie Boyden for keeping track of the runs and wickets.

05/06/2017

Seevent England 60+ 2017 Squad

The trial process has now been completed and the selectors have named the squad for the summer series against Australia.
It has been extremely difficult to reduce the numbers down to just 16 from the original group of nominated players along with those who toured Australia last year. Congratulations to all those who have made it into the final squad but also, commiserations of course to those who have not been selected this time. The players represent 15 different counties.
Since the trial, Chris Swadkin has decided to withdraw from the playing side (he will still be involved in selection) and Martin Ivill has been appointed as Vice-Captain in his place.

The final squad with reserves is as follows:
J Foster (c) (Shropshire), M Ivill (Yorkshire), D Bartholomew (Lancashire), N Belletty (Somerset (wk), N Calvert (Lincolnshire), I Caunce (Oxfordshire), J Courtney (Gloucestershire), D Elder (Hertfordshire), K Harsham (Hampshire), D Owen (Buckinghamshire), D Pegg (Northamptonshire), J Punchard (Lancashire), M Stafford (Buckinghamshire), R Staple (Kent), M Walwyn (Yorkshire), M Young (Essex)
Reserve keeper on standby: C Tarrant (Kent)
Reserves on standby: S Clements (Hertfordshire), C Evans (Surrey), J Phillips (Kent)
There will be a squad get-together on 2 July at Banbury XX Cricket Club starting at 1.00pm.

The matches against Australia are as follows:
FIRST ODI TEST Sunday 16 July at Blackpool CC
SECOND ODI TEST Sunday 23 July at Kidderminster CC
THIRD ODI TEST Friday 28 July at South Wilts CC
All spectators are welcome to come along and support the team.
Further details of the whole tour which runs from 3 July to 28 July can be found on The 60+ Internationals page

Australia 60+ Tour of England July 2017 Itinerary

* Unlimited ** Retire 50+

Day	Date	Home		Away	Venue	Start Time	Result
Mon *	Juy 3rd	East Anglia	v	Australia 60+	Old Buckenham		Australia
Wed **	July 5th	Lincs / Ridings Select	v	Australia 60+	Baildon CC		Australia
Frid *	July 7th	Yorkshire	v	Australia 60+	Harrogate CC		Australia
Sun **	July 9th	Durham	v	Australia 60+	Burnopfield		Australia
Tues *	July 11th	Scotland	v	Australia 60+	Edinburgh		Australia
Wed **	July 12th	Scotland XI	v	Australia 60+	Edinburgh		Australia
Frid *	July 14th	Lancashire	v	Australia 60+	Heywood CC		Australia
Sun *	July 16th	England	v	Australia 60+	Blackpool CC	11 am	England
Mon *	July 17th	Cheshire	v	Australia 60+	Cheadle Hulme CC		Australia
Wed **	July 19th	Shropshire	v	Australia 60+	Oswestry		Australia
Frid *	July 21st	Wales	v	Australia 60+	Cwmbran area		Abandoned
Sun *	July 23rd	England	v	Australia 60+	Kidderminster	11 am	England
Mon **	July 24th	Gloucestershire	v	Australia 60+	Cheltenham		Australia
Wed *	July 26th	Oxfordshire	v	Australia 60+	Oxfordshire area		Australia
Frid *	July 28th	England	v	Australia 60+	Salisbury	11 am	England

14/04/2017

Preparing for the Australian visit in July!

Following the reappointment of John Foster, Chris Swadkin and Andrew Clarke (Manager) to the England Over 60 team, nominations for the 2017 squad were invited from all the counties taking part in the Seevent competition.

Over 30 players were put forward and the selectors have chosen the following to participate in the trial process during May:

Bernie Bishop, Glen Bullock, Simon Clements, John Courtney, Pete Docherty, Ken Earl, Duncan Elder, Chris Evans, Keith Harsham, Pete Hayes, Peter Howard, Jim Phillips, John Punchard, Steve Saker,  Martin Southwell, Chris Tarrant , Marcus Young.

These players will take part in a trial match at Banbury on 14 May alongside some of the Ashes squad from 2016. Two teams will then be chosen from these players and the rest of the 2016 squad to form a final trial match which will take place on 28 May.

The schedule of fixtures for the tour has been agreed, details are on the Internationals page

John Foster