Golden oldies shine.....

Goresbrook retirement home cricket XI, assisted by two 16 year old care assistants and a 30 year old plumber (who still looks 16) truly rolled back the years on Saturday afternoon at the MABA. Wickham II's proving amiable opponents.

The scene was set as early as the second ball when Dunston Alfred (or Alfred Dunston as former chairman of selectors Ted Dexter would no doubt have called him) was dropped in the gully, an escape that enabled him and fellow opener Paul Lowe to score freely on a soft slow wicket and long, slower, beach like outfield. Indeed the St Lucian legend thought himself back home on the sandy shores of Castries, with the two cypress trees behind the changing room doubling as the Pitons in his mind, as he attacked every ball with intent and looked for singles that even the firsts would have thought risky.

Alfred was first to 50 and had hit two huge sixes in his 68 when he was lured down the pitch by visiting skipper Hunt with 89 on the board. Tommy Puncher (19) came in to join Lowe and helped him reach his half century before becoming Hunt's second victim, also stumped while looking to up the pace. Lowe soon followed for a hard hit 67 but the platform had been set for Lowe's hair-colour-alike Jo Wilkinson with 32 and Ricci Parnell, promoted up the order following his heroics at Great Baddow, with 28 to push the score onwards and upwards to an impressive 246-5 in 40 overs.

Neither Parnell nor Owen Elsom took a wicket in their opening five over spells but Andrew Pauling struck with his first ball and then proceeded to bowl with considerable control and maturity to snag a further 3 victims in his nine over spell. Paul Atkins, the youngest of the golden oldies, bowling without a zimmer frame throughout his 9 over spell nabbed a wicket then Elsom and Martin Rooke got in on the act before skipper Maund rolled back the years with a 3 wicket burst in a ten ball spell that secured a third successive victory and second spot in Division 11 behind the smaller of the Baddows by virtue of an early 5 point deduction for Sporting Mark reporting tardiness.

The 4's move on to play one of the few XI's in Essex older than them when they make the shortish trip to Navestock Ardleigh Green next week, although they will have to do so without talismanic skipper Maund who will be missing at his favourite son Daniel's wedding.