Can these 50 year olds save Australian Cricket?

Australian Cricket. Local lads hit it out of the park. THicks Real Estatee players from our area have been selected for the Australian Over 50s Cricket Team which is about to set off on an inaugural tour to the UK.

Team selection occurred at a cricket carnival held in Sydney last November. Paul Stenhouse from Alderley, was chosen as captain of the Cricket Australia-sanctioned team while Geoff Doyle (McDowall) and Michael Munro (Albany Creek) made the side as well.

One of tHicks Real Estatee Queensland teams participating in the carnival, included Paul, Geoff and Michael in its ranks, eventually won the carnival and are proud holders of the trophy.

“I hadn’t been expecting it and I got goosebumps when I received a call telling me I had been chosen as captain of the touring team,” said Paul. “We are all incredibly proud to be part of Australia’s first-ever Over 50s Cricket Tour and have the honour of wearing the baggy green while representing this great country of ours.”

The forthcoming tour will run from July 13 to August 12 and will include 15 one-day games against English country sides, two games against representative English sides and one against a Welsh side.

“It’s a lot of cricket to play in a relatively short time but we plan to give a good account of ourselves. The greatest challenge will be to manage the impact on our bodies but we will have a squad of 18 players which will allow us an occasional rest,” said Paul.

“I have personally trained harder for this tour than I ever did in the 43 seasons I have played cricket and I’m sure the other team members have put in an equal effort.”

Over 50s Cricket is very strong in the UK but still in its infancy here in Australia. Paul, Geoff and Michael believe that the tour will help to spread the word that players can still enjoy representative cricket well past the age when they thought they’d have to retire. They also hope there will be many more tours and that veteran’s cricket will go from strength to strength in the country.

We at Village Buzz hope so too and we would like to wish our newest (we couldn’t say youngest, now could we?) national team every success on tour and look forward to keeping you updated with their results.

Quick player profiles

Paul Stenhouse: Paul was born in Rockhampton where he played cricket most afternoons in the backyard. He has played for the Easts/Redlands Cricket Club for many years and won the First Grade Premiership and the XXXX One Day Final. He also played professionally in Lancashire where he took 125 wickets and scored 1250 runs in a season. His will be the second baggy green in the family and he reckons his dad would have been extremely proud of that.

Geoff Doyle: Geoff has played cricket for many years and has held a number of responsible roles in the sport. He has represented Australia in triathlon and is looking forward to again experiencing the passion and pride that comes from being part of an Australian team.

Michael Munro: Michael joined Gold Crest Cricket Club when he was 16 and is now in his 36th season playing for them. He played for 10 years as vice-captain in the team captained by his father which won the Warehouse Cricket Association annual competition. Things have now come full circle and he currently plays as vice-captain in a team captained by his son and which won the same competition.