England 60+ Internationals

Media release

Elton Cricket Club

9 June 2025

Ex-England cricketer set to appear at club’s first ever international match – and it’s all thanks to Vatican City meeting

A community cricket club in Bury, Greater Manchester is gearing up to host its first ever international match, with a former England player set to make an appearance.

Elton Cricket Club will stage a masters cricket match between England Lions 60s Cricket and West Indies Masters this Fathers’ Day.

Roland Butcher, who became the first black player to represent England in 1980, is expected to attend the game, a historic occasion for one of the town’s oldest cricket clubs.

The invite to be part of the international teams’ 2025 schedule only came about thanks to a chance meeting in Rome by one of the club’s committee members.

Members are now rallying round to host their prestigious guests, with junior players set to form a guard of honour and a post-match celebratory meal planned. 

Elton committee member Mark Burns, who plays for the club, was holidaying with wife Kim and son Luke when he received a call asking if he could fly to Italy to help a cricket team that was one player short for its game against the Vatican Cricket Team.

He said: “It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss, without question, so we jumped on a plane and went to Rome. I got talking with Paul, the manager of England 60s Cricket and, when he found out we were associated with a cricket club, he asked if we’d be interested in hosting a match.”

The game, on Sunday, June 15, will see England Lions 60s Cricket team take to the field for a 45-over match against the West Indies Masters side.

Barbados-born Mr Butcher, who played for Middlesex, is the vice president of the Seniors County Championship, and will be a guest of the club, which is hoping as many people as possible will attend.

Both national anthems will be played before the first ball is bowled at 1pm, with a commentator providing a live overview of events.

Entry is free for spectators and there will be food and drinks available.

Chairman Warren Hornby said it was a proud occasion for the club, which has over 400 members and is a founder member of the Greater Manchester Cricket League.

He said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming the England Lions and West Indies teams to Leigh Lane and hope the community will come and join us for this historic event.

“Bringing international cricket to Elton Cricket Club has really captured the imagination of all of our members, who are rallying round to make sure the day is a huge success. Clubs like ours couldn’t function without the support of volunteers and it seems fitting that people have been working tirelessly to prepare for our visitors during Volunteers’ Week.

“It should be a great day with some fantastic cricket played, a real community occasion, and we’d like to thank the teams for giving us the opportunity to show what Elton Cricket Club can do.”

The England 60s selection committee have picked the squads for the first two fixtures of the West Indies series and the two Lions fixtures as the Caribbean flair comes to England.

Only in 2023 have these two sides met before as England defeated the West Indies by 63 runs with current England captain Edward Gordon Lennox achieving a half century whilst Montie Douglas, who returns to the side for the final Lions game, was also on form that day with a 50 of his own.

This series sees the Lions play games on June 15^th and 20^th at Elton CC and Marton CC, whilst there will be three ODIs at Littleborough CC, Dunnington CC and Handsworth CC on June 16^th, 18^th and 22^nd, respectively.

At the end of 2024, Douglas stood by himself as the only player to achieve 1000 runs for England 60s, but against Wales in May, Richard Merriman managed to climb over that figure with 91 runs off 77 balls in a 137-run victory, and he features in both of the ODI squads.

Tony Birbeck, who scored an unbeaten 130 off 98 balls against Scotland in May, is unavailable for the first two ODIs but does feature for the Lions on Sunday, June 15^th, whilst Nigel Moore is also not able to feature.

Jason Caunt will continue in his role as Lions captain after a victorious start against Scotland by seven runs.

That match included an unbeaten 73 for Temoor Alam on debut, who features in both Lions squads, and 65 runs for Graham Shaw who will play in the second Lions game and the first ODI, which will be a return to Littleborough where Shaw hit 10 runs off the last over including the winning runs in the fifth ODI against Pakistan last year.

A name which didn’t feature in the original summer squad list but does appear here is Yorkshire’s Martin Watkin, who has been added to the Lions team, but he isn’t a completely new name to the setup, having featured in that aforementioned Caribbean Cup win.

The team for the third ODI, at Handsworth Cricket Club, will be announced at a later date.

The squads in full

Lions v West Indies (15th June)	1st ODI (16th June)	2nd ODI (18th June)	Lions v West Indies (20th June)
Jason Caunt (C)	Edward Gordon Lennox (C)	Edward Gordon Lennox (C)	Jason Caunt (C)
Andrew Davis (WK)	Steve Aston (WK)	Simon Routh (WK)	Gary Joyce (WK)
Temoor Alam	Razi Ahmed	Razi Ahmed	Temoor Alam
Tony Birbeck	Neil Brathwaite	Phil Deakin	David Christmas
Mel Dobson	Phil Deakin	Nick Gaywood	Montie Douglas
Mark Eames	Mel Hussain	Mel Hussain	Mark Eames
Martyn Ford	Richard Merriman	Richard Merriman	Martyn Ford
Paul Garlick	Nick Newman	Nick Newman	Steve Hunt
Mike Palmer	Paul Radage	Mike Palmer	Lee Selfe
Jim Phillips	Graham Shaw	Paul Radage	Graham Shaw
Lee Selfe	Kevin Watson	Martin Watkin	Martin Watkin
Martin Watkin	Mark Wilson	Mark Wilson	Kevin Watson
Paul Gelder (Manager)	Paul Bradley (Manager)	Paul Bradley (Manager)	Paul Gelder (Manager)

The West Indies have also announced their squad for the tour, which is as follows: Zamin Ali (C), Hafeez Ali, Anthony Boyke, Deonarine Deyal, Dave Debidin, Emmerson Jordan, Keith Lawrence, Hafiz Mohamed, Krishendat Ramdat, Keith Seale, Balwant Roy Singh, Chanderpaul Singh, Gerald Singh, Maurice Sukul, Raj Singh (Manager)

Fixtures

England Lions vs West Indies @ Elton CC (12pm, June 15^th)

England vs West Indies (First ODI) @ Littleborough CC (12pm, June 16^th)

England vs West Indies (Second ODI) @ Dunnington CC (12pm, June 18^th)

England Lions vs West Indies @ Marton CC (12pm, June 20^th)

England vs West Indies (Third ODI) @ Handsworth CC (12pm, June 22^nd)

How to follow

The games will be covered live on the England 60s social media channels. You can follow the team on X (@eng60scricket), Facebook (England 60s Cricket), and Instagram (@eng60scricket).

Also, the second and third ODIs will be live-streamed on the England 60s Cricket YouTube channel, with the remaining games covered by the host clubs.

Follow the team here – bit.ly/m/England60sCricket

England 60s continue streaming partnership with the University of Gloucestershire

England 60s are delighted to announce the continuation of our partnership with the University of Gloucestershire, who will produce all of the live streams on the team’s YouTube channel in the 2025 summer.

Starting with Friday’s game (23^rd May) against Wales, the students from the Television Production/Film and Sports Journalism courses and technician Ivor Richards will be at 18 fixtures across the England, Lions and regional XI teams as well as September’s Tri-Nations series.

The streams will feature a camera at either end facing the wicket, one roaming camera and a commentary team.

In 2024, they produced live streams on the England 60s Cricket YouTube channel for the One-Day International against Wales and two games of the Royal Nawaab Trophy against Pakistan.

A year later, 2025 will see full coverage of the series against the USA on the team’s YouTube channel, four of the five ODIs against Australia and the final match of three in the West Indies series.

The games that can’t be covered by the university’s team will be live-streamed on the respective host club’s YouTube channels.

The live streams offer companies a fantastic opportunity to advertise their business by sponsoring the team. This can be done using logos, showreels or information read out by the commentators. If you are interested in finding out more about these opportunities, message the team on either X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Games that will be streamed on the England 60s YouTube channel

23rd May – Only ODI v Wales @ Newport CC

22nd June – Third ODI v West Indies @ Handsworth CC

26th June – Northern XI v Australia @ Grappenhall CC

27th June – Lions v Australia @ Cheadle Hulme CC

30th June – First ODI v Australia @ Littleborough CC

4th July – Lions v Australia @ Oughtibridge CC

7th July – Second ODI v Australia @ Fairburn CC

9th July – Midlands XI @ Loughborough CC

10th July – Lions v Australia @ Stratford-upon-Avon CC

13th July – Chairman’s XI @ Oakamoor CC

21st July – Fourth ODI v Australia @ Sparsholt CC

24th July – Fifth ODI v Australia @ Royal Ascot CC

6th August – First ODI v USA @ Winchmore Hill CC (Penn)

7th August – Lions v USA @ Royal Ascot CC

10th August – Second ODI v USA @ Chipping Campden CC

11th August – Lions v USA @ Eastnor Castle

13th August – Third ODI v USA @ Hursley Park CC

14th August – Lions v USA @ Hamworthy CC

16th-18th September – Tri Nations @ Midlands

The England 60s international committee have recently named the squads for the team’s upcoming fixtures against Wales and Scotland.

Captain Edward Gordon Lennox will lead the side in the One-Day Internationals against both countries, while Jason Caunt has been named England Lions captain ahead of the Scotland fixture.

The action starts on Friday, May 23^rd, when England plays Wales at Newport. The following week, England heads north for games against Scotland on May 29^th and 30^th at Saltburn and Seaton Carew.

The XII for the Wales game features former captain Richard Merriman, who stepped down at the end of the Pakistan series in 2024 to take a break from international cricket.

All members of the Grey Ashes squad over the winter are present in one or more of the three teams, excluding Melvyn Holmes, who is injured.

Phil Deakin returns after missing the winter tour to Australia, while Tony Birbeck, Neil Brathwaite, Nick Newman and Graham Shaw also return to the England squad.

Plus, there are spots for several debutants. Sanjay Beri, Steve Small and Mark Wilson will appear in England colours for the first time, while Temoor Alam, Dave Christmas, Mel Dobson, Steve Hunt and Gary Joyce are set to play in the Lions XII against Scotland.

Andrew Davis has also been named in this summer’s wider squad, but he is unavailable for May’s games.

Upon the squad being selected, manager Paul Bradley said: “After two successful trials, England 60s and the Lions now take on Wales and Scotland with three strong sides. This will help us pick the England and the Lions sides for the forthcoming series against the West Indies at the end of June.”

Captain Gordon Lennox added: “It is once again a great personal privilege, and an exciting time for England 60s to aim high and seek to make 2025 a golden summer for our Seniors Cricket. The weather has allowed us to get off to a great start.

“To be successful, we will have to be brave, stay fit, work hard for each other and embrace all that representation brings and demands.”

The squads in full

Wales ODI	Scotland ODI	England Lions
Edward Gordon Lennox (C)	Edward Gordon Lennox (C)	Jason Caunt (C)
Simon Routh (WK)	Steve Aston (WK)	Gary Joyce (WK)
Razi Ahmed	Sanjay Beri	Razi Ahmed
Neil Brathwaite	Tony Birbeck	Temoor Alam
Phil Deakin	Montie Douglas	Dave Christmas
Nick Gaywood	Nick Gargaro	Mel Dobson
Mel Hussain	Mel Hussain	Mark Eames
Richard Merriman	Nick Newman	Martyn Ford
Mike Palmer	Lee Selfe	Paul Garlick
Jim Phillips	Graham Shaw	Steve Hunt
Paul Radage	Steve Small	Nigel Moore
Mark Wilson	Kevin Watson	Lee Selfe

Fixtures

Wales v England @ Newport CC (12pm, May 23^rd)

England v Scotland @ Saltburn CC (TBC, May 29^th)

England Lions v Scotland @ Seaton Carew (TBC, May 30^th)

How to follow

The games will be covered live on the England 60s social media channels. You can follow the team on X (@eng60scricket), Facebook (England 60s Cricket), and Instagram (@eng60scricket).

The fixture against Wales will be streamed on the England 60s YouTube channel, while live streaming details for the Scotland games will be communicated on the team’s social media channels.

Follow the team here – bit.ly/m/England60sCricket

Thank you for your recent nominations for England 60s Cricket. We have had 69 nominations from across the counties, and with 16 of the England squad who went to Australia to include we have a very healthy pool of 85 players to consider. We have decided to have two trial games as follows:

• Sunday 4th May at Bardon Cricket Club in Leicestershire (more Northern players)
• Wednesday 7th May at Thame Cricket Club in Oxfordshire (more Southern players)

We are in the process of looking at skills and statistics to shortlist the nominations to 44 triallists, and may well be in touch with you for further advice in due course. Meanwhile could you please ensure you return the contact details for all your nominees (email and phone) by end of next week 28th February. Thank you.

We will then be in touch with the selected nominees for trial to confirm their interest, fitness, attitude and availability. Please do get back to Edward or I with any questions.

Paul Bradley (on behalf of the International Committee)

Full tour report including match reports and player stats Here

We are looking for a manager for the England Lions team who will work closely with the 1st XI Manager and International Committee .It’s a volunteer role with no remuneration .

The England  Lions team is England’s second tier team below the full England Cricket Seniors team . It is largely intended as a way for promising senior cricketers to gain experience of playing international cricket and a stepping stone to get into the full England Seniors Squad .

Are you a cricket enthusiast with the experience and passion to lead a team of seasoned players? The England Lions Over-60s Cricket Team is seeking a dynamic and dedicated Team Manager to guide this talented group of veteran cricketers to success on the national and international stage.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the management of the England Lions Over-60s cricket team, fostering a competitive and enjoyable environment.

• Collaborate with selectors, coaches, and players to prepare the team for domestic and international fixtures.

• Organize team logistics, including match scheduling, travel, and accommodation.

• Support players’ physical and mental well-being, ensuring optimal performance on and off the field.

• Build a strong team culture based on respect, camaraderie, and a love of cricket.

What We’re Looking For:

• Experience in cricket team management, coaching, or a similar leadership role.

• A strong understanding of senior cricket and its unique dynamics.

• Excellent organizational and communication skills.

• A passion for cricket and the ability to inspire and motivate experienced players.

Why Join Us?

• Lead a passionate group of cricketing veterans on a national and international stage.

• Represent the England Lions Over-60s and contribute to the growth of senior cricket.

• Opportunity to be part of a thriving cricketing community.

Application Deadline: Friday 31st January 

If you’re ready to make a difference and lead the England Lions Over-60s team to new heights, we’d love to hear from you!

Apply Now

For more information contact 

Paul Bradley 

[email protected]

07787226216 

We have just returned from an exciting tour to Australia and have now started  the planning for the  2025 season .

Lots happening this year and we will provide updates via the website .

The England  team will have games against Scotland , Wales , West Indies , Australia , USA and a tour to Pakistan in October.

The England Lions will have games against Scotland , Wales , West Indies , Australia ,USA and an U.K. based Indian team . They have also been invited to tour India .

We are looking for a manager for the England Lions and will send out an advert in the near future .

To ensure no one is overlooked for selection to the squads please can you liaise with your first team captain and over 50’s rep and forward your recommendations with supporting evidence based on the 5 criteria by Friday 24th January.

We also ask you to nominate players in other counties who you play against in your league.

[email protected]

[email protected]

Happy to discuss .

My contact number is 07787 226216 

Best Regards 

Paul on behalf of the International Committee.

 England Over 60s Guidelines for Nomination & Selection (Main Squad & Lions)

Purpose…

To play for your country is a huge honour, and the opportunity needs to be earned, and then retained. 

The purpose of this document is therefore to support the County representatives and the England selectors as they identify individuals good enough to play for England Over 60s and/or the England Lions. It is not designed to be a ‘policy’ but rather a ‘guideline’ as the England selectors will always retain the freedom to pick the strongest, balanced side to win international games.

Benefits…

• Counties are clear what is required, and annual trials can become a little more targeted

• Squad and team selection can be easier…and based on the required balance of core skills within any team

• Individuals are clear as to the way in which they can improve their chances of selection

Five Criteria…

1. Batters. Bat Positively. All top order batters need to be able and happy to bat anywhere in the top half of the order. They should be able to run quickly between the wickets, and/or have a strong strike rate, so to maximise the opportunity to score runs. They should have the capability to take games away from the opposition. 

or/and…

2. Bowlers. Bowl Consistently. Seam or slow bowlers must be consistently accurate and economical, and good enough to take regular wickets. Bowlers must be able to own their own fields and, with the assistance of the captain and other bowlers, must work out how to get batters out, often with a variety of deliveries. They should also be able to come back for a second spell. 

and…

3. Fielders. Field Aggressively. Players are expected to be able and prepared to dive to stop aball, catch, run out batters within the ring and ideally have a strong throw.

and…

4. Squad Fit. Commitment to team approach. Humility, support for team-mates, asking of others before promoting self, acceptance of ways of working and a strong personal progress ethic are fundamental.

and…

5. ‘DOG’. When the going gets tough. This is a personal quality that stands up to the key moments, inspires team-mates, is honest with self and goes the extra mile.

Statistics are of course also an important part of the decision-making process

England Selectors

• Geoff Beale – Chairman

• Edward Gordon Lennox – Captain

• Richard Merriman – Previous Captain

• Paul Bradley – Manager