Forget Australia in November, there is another Ashes battle taking place against the old enemy next month, with the Australian Over 60s cricket team heading to England for a tour.
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Flying out on June 29, the team will play more than 10 games across the UK, including three one day matches against an English team, a series dubbed the ‘Grey Ashes’.
The side includes Launceston’s Glen Richardson, who was part of the team that lost 2-1 against England when they visited in December.
He said the side can’t wait for an opportunity to win back the trophy.
“There is really an Ashes-style atmosphere to those games, so I think we are all looking forward to playing those matches the most,” he said.
“The fact it is called the Grey Ashes is interesting, considering all ash is grey.”
The top order batsmen was selected for the national Over 60s team on the back of a strong performance at the national carnival in Perth late last year, which included more that 800 players.
He is now set to take the field in Lancashire, Durham, Norwich, Scotland and Cardiff in what he described as a “circumnavigation of the UK.”
While the 60-year-old has been training steadily for tour, he admitted the teams they play in the UK may have the edge in terms of match fitness.
“The England team have been playing more than us recently, so it will be interesting to see whether it makes a difference on the day.”
Before getting involved with Over 60s cricket last October, Richardson was a long time member of Trevallyn Cricket Club. He is also a part of the Tassie Twilighters Cricket Club, which includes both Over 60s and Over 70s.
As well as the annual national carnivals, the Twilighters regularly travel interstate to play other senior teams and will fly to the Sunshine Coast in July to take on a Queensland team.
Anyone who wishes to join the Twilighters is encouraged to head down to the Northern Tasmania Cricket Ground Association indoor nets on Friday mornings to train with the team. All experience levels are welcome.