MORE than three decades after they opened the batting for the Newcastle representative cricket team, Steve Mace and Anthony Daly have renewed their partnership, this time wearing the green and gold on the other side of the world.
Charlestown's Mace and Waratah-Mayfield's Daly were regulars at the top of the order in the early 1990s, before the latter left town to try his luck in Tasmania, for whom he made 13 Sheffield Shield appearances.
They may well never have crossed paths again, except for veterans cricket.
Mace had not long retired from a marathon first-grade career when he was asked to play for the Newcastle over-50s team.
He rapidly progressed to the NSW side before making his debut for Australia over-50s in 2021.
This year he was one of the first players picked for Australia's tour of England and Wales, which took place in June and July, and was delighted to learn that Daly would be among his teammates.
"It was awesome," Mace told the Newcastle Herald.
"I grew up playing with and against Dales, 30-odd years ago.
"So to catch up with him again, and open the batting for Australia, it was great to spend some time in the middle together."
While Mace, 55, has enjoyed renewing acquaintances with Daly and other former teammates and opponents, he has also been pleasantly surprised with the competition level.
"We've played against ex-first-class players and ex-internationals, so the standard is pretty good," Mace said. "The only thing is that the bowlers don't bowl 20 overs a day."
Mace has now played over-50 internationals against Sri Lanka, New Zealand, India, England and Wales, scoring seven centuries in the process.
His next goal is to skipper NSW to a win in this year's over-50 national championships, which will be staged in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie from November 3-7.
"To win a final in the home town, you couldn't get much better than that," Mace said.
"NSW have never won a national over-50 title, which is something we're aware of. We don't think we're too far away."
The national titles will involve 32 teams, in four divisions, and will bring an estimated 600 players to the city.
Tournament director Stephen Leathley, who is also the president of the Newcastle Hunter Veterans Cricket Association, said the over-age game was booming.
"Veterans is the fastest-growing demographic in Australian cricket," Leathley said. "It's grown massively in the last seven or eight years. We want people to start looking on cricket as a sport you can play for your whole life."
