Sixty not out: when cricketers play on

What happens to cricketers when their reflexes slow down and the quality of the afternoon tea is more important than the quality of the pitch? They keep playing... in the Vets.

Author Michael Angwin shapes a drive to the on, while playing for Victoria’s Over 60s Fifth XI against South Australia in Penrith in 2018. Talent, form and practice have little to do with team strategy and tactics.

Michael AngwinFormer IR adviser

Mar 6, 2021 – 12.00am

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Once, when playing in a grand final for Melbourne’s Canterbury Cricket Club veterans, I sat behind Tex and noticed the state of his hat which, I realised, is a metaphor for veterans cricketers everywhere.

Old, frayed, experienced, loved, not as effective as it once was, but serviceable enough to keep going without having to be replaced by a new version that might not see out even one summer.