A clunk, a shout, a cheer and England have beaten Australia. The celebrations are not as wild as you expect – no leaping on the keeper, no Stuart Broad laps of the outfield. Perhaps it’s because the game has long been heading to this conclusion: Australia are all out in the 43rd over, still 91 runs adrift. Perhaps it’s because the winners are taking care of their joints.
England’s over-70s team have absolutely dominated the three-match one-day international series – AKA the Silver Ashes. They won the first game at Castle Park in Colchester by 54 runs, thanks in no small part to a splendid 114 not out from their captain, John Evans, who was 71 in July. He was instrumental to the cause again at Wellington, top-scoring with 57 off 84 balls. Not bad for a man who waited more than six decades to make his international debut.
“It took me a long time to play for England,” says Evans, whose club career for Frocester was offset by winters playing semi-pro football for Forest Green, Gloucester and Cheltenham. “My football career caught up with me and I had a couple of arthroscopies.” He thought he had missed his chance to play senior international cricket. “I was disappointed not to play for the over-60s. It didn’t even cross my mind there would be an opportunity in my 70s.”
Evans was vice-captain on the over-70s tour of Australia this year and took over the captaincy when Chris Watkins developed a chest infection. “That’s helped me gel with the team,” he says. “One of the hardest parts of the job has been the selection process. There were dozens of excellent players vying for a place and the standard in the final trial game for this series was very high.”
The proof was on the pitch in Shropshire on Sunday. Australia’s team have plenty of experience; one of their seamers, Colin Cooke, used to open the bowling for Queensland with Jeff Thomson. His pace has slackened a little since then, but his accuracy has not. Evans and his opening partner, Andrew Peters, treated him with caution during the Powerplay, while ruining Ron Kasputis’s figures at the other end. One particularly dismissive smack through midwicket from Evans savoured of KP sauce.
The England manager, Chris Lowe, says the team’s aggression is key to its success. “We got to Bazball first,” he says, pointing out that after losing the first of their ODIs in Australia, they bounced back to win the next two by 100 runs and eight wickets. “Our openers take the game to the opposition and we’ve got a couple of accurate seam bowlers and four very good spin bowlers who give us control.” Martin Southwell and Mick Kenyon each took two for 27 on Sunday and despite a 73-run fourth-wicket partnership from Kevin Lanigan and Ian Petherick the visitors couldn’t break the stranglehold.
Fitness in the field has also told for England. “A lot of our players spend their winters keeping fit – walking, cycling, gym work,” says Lowe. “We spend a quarter of an hour stretching before every game, which is why we managed a month in Australia without an injury. People who come to watch are amazed by how athletic the players are. They go away thinking: ‘Wow, that was good cricket.’”
Seniors cricket is growing in popularity and the internationals act as a shop window. Lowe puts it down to the way that perception of age is changing. “We live longer and look after ourselves, have better diets,” he says. “One of the reasons guys drop out of cricket is that you become the oldest bloke in the changing room and you’ve got nothing much to talk to them about. I was 15 years older than any of the folks in my club team. But when you play age-group cricket you’ve been through the same life experiences.”
Over-50s, over-60s and over-70s teams hold a huge value as a place where older players can find community. “There’s an empathy and understanding between us of what you face as you get older. Some people have lost their wives and that can be very isolating. Some have been very ill, or had hip transplants, and come back from that to play again. There’s a lot of joy in it.”
The over-70s scene is a growth market; there are plans in motion for Canada to tour England next year and hopes that New Zealand will join the international circuit. An over-60s World Cup is being held in Chennai next spring and as those players age more national over-70s teams will develop. “Then it becomes more viable to run tournaments for them,” says Lowe.
The final ODI of the Silver Ashes takes place on Sunday, when Evans will be looking to complete a clean sweep. But first he needs to give his body a rest: his long hours at the crease have left him with some very stiff legs indeed.
If you’d like to find out more about seniors cricket and get involved yourself, visit 6070cc.co.uk
This is an extract from the Guardian’s weekly cricket email, The Spin.
