Last game and test decider against England at Sunbury on Thames

Our eighteenth match was a two day test match at Sunbury on Thames on 2nd and 3rd of July. Each team was to bat 80 overs with the game starting at 11 am. Once again the route to the ground took us near the Hampton Court Flower Show so it was an early start both days.

A sign near the bell shows that this ground was opened by Sir Leonard Hutton in 1959.

The cricket ground is part of a larger sporting complex.

The Sunbury Cricket Club was formed in 1938.

As this was a test match the team posed for their official photo.

The Australian Cricket Board had arranged for Catherine to record the proceedings of the match and there was also a reporter from Sky TV so there were additional, larger, cameras present when the national anthems were sung.

On the first day Australia batted and was all out for 263 runs in the last over of the day's play. England had bowled and fielded well making it difficult for our batsmen to make big scores. However, as the saying goes, we had the score on the board.

On day 2 Ian Caunce and Nigel Bloch opened the batting for England and got off to a good start assisted by several dropped catches despite some excellent bowling. The score reached 105 before James Martin took Caunces' wicket. The momentum changed as Phil Drescher joined the bowling attack and the score quickly became 2 for 105 then 3 for 108. At lunch England was 4 for 125. When the batsmen returned to the crease after lunch they now wore helmets instead of caps which was probably just as well Rex Bennett was bowling and in 8 balls took 3 wickets for only one run. The remaining English batsmen tried hard but the game was over after 51 overs with England all out for 192.

Australia had now won two of the three test matches against England and consequently the series.
Needless to say there were some very happy Australians after the game.

It was the end of a great tour with Australia winning 11 of the 14 county games played, a test match against Wales for the first time and, of course, two of the three test matches against England.

During the afternoon of the first day I went for a walk exploring the local area. Public access on this side of the river is limited but I did find a few places where the river could be enjoyed.

Rivermead Island is a grassy stretch of land reached by a small bridge. There are some very large trees on the island.

Large aeroplanes often flew over the ground on their way to or from Heathrow Airport.

For the players the hectic, but most enjoyable tour was over. Some were going home while others were visiting other parts of the UK or Europe first. For us, we moved from Hounslow to Sunbury on Thames to join the members of the Victorian over 60s team who had arrived for a tour of other counties in England. Our cricket holiday in England continues.

Game 15 Second Test against England at Middleton on Sea

We left our hotel in Tunbridge Wells

and after an hour and a half drive from Kent to West Sussex we arrived at Middleton on Sea, near Bognor Regis.

The Middleton on Sea Sports Club covers tennis, lawn bowls, squash as well as cricket.

The club rooms are impressive and the staff had worked hard to publicise the event and ensure all went smoothly. Unfortunately as one person commented, 'The weather is not great so we don't expect many to turn up.'

The Australians had their normal warm up session

posed for photographs

and the national anthems were sung. The singing of Advance Australia Fair had improved greatly compared with the singing at the earlier tests.

Australia batted first. They were 3 for 40 when Phil Drescher came out to bat. The fourth ball he faced was hit out of the ground and not found. Phil's 67 runs included 4 sixes. Australia had made 217 runs - definitely not as many as we would have expected to make.
England also got off to a shaky start and were 3 for 31 after 13 overs. Although Robin and James Martin suffered leg injuries during the match the rest of the bowlers worked hard with success and England could only make 9 for 190 at stumps.

It was a great Australian victory and the first time that an Australian over 60s side had defeated England.

During the game I went for a walk to check out the beach.

It was low tide and there were few people at the beach except for those walking dogs.

Like many beaches in England there were pebbles, not sand.

Erosion has been a major problem and a number of solutions have been tried over the years.

Along the road back to the cricket ground here were a number of houses with colourful gardens.

Game 10 - against England at Halstead [also Game 11 against Essex]

We travelled from Bedford to Halstead in Essex for the first Test Match against England.

Halstead Cricket Club was founded in 1885.

After the normal warm-up for the Australians, the English players posed for their team photos and then a group photo with the Aussies.

After new Australian players Robin Court and Graeme McIlwain received their baggy green caps, the Australians then had their own team photo.

 Both teams then sang their national anthem.

The Australians won the toss and elected to field and after 50 overs England had made 7 for 237. Colin Cooke had 4 for 33 off his 10 overs supported by Rex Bennett with 2 for 19 off 8 overs. Robin bowled 8 overs - no wickets for 36 runs but the scoring of runs slowed when he was bowling.

 The Australians then batted but could only make 8 for 166 allowing England to win by 71 runs, a disappointing result. England therefore maintained their winning run against Australia.

A large  crowd came to watch the game including many families supporting the English and sometimes the Australian players.

Next day we were back at Halstead for a game against Essex.

Australia batted first and made 6 for 238 off 44 overs when rain finished the innings. The second innings was delayed and the Australians worked to complete the 20 overs to have an official match. The final score, when players were forced to leave the field, was 4 for 97 off 33 overs. Robin and Brian Scott once again slowed down the run rate while picking up a wicket each. Greg Quinn contributed 2 wickets for 37 runs. Australian won on run rate.

Halstead has won prizes for its floral displays and a number of examples were near the cricket ground.

Game 5 - at Croesyceiliog against Wales

The game on 14 June was a One Day International against Wales at Croesyceiliog, north of Cardiff. In reality the Wales team is made up of players from the southern part of Wales. In two previous contests Wales had won so we expected a tight game.

While the players were doing their normal stretches and warm-up a remark was made by the captain of the Wales second team that he was now worried about the game as the warm-up for the Welsh was hitting a few balls in the net.

When we arrived at the Croesyceiliog Cricket Club we were warmly greeted with the WAGS being ushered upstairs for a warm drink and Welsh cakes.

One of the men said that they had arranged a special surprise for us after the game.

The ground was once again set in a picturesque location.

with most impressive club rooms.

Our flag was added to the flag pole with the Wales and club flags.

The teams then posed for their photo opportunity.

The two teams then lined up for the singing of the two national anthems.

Australia batted first and scored 7 for 250 runs. Phil Drescher 51and John Dedman 69 were the highest scorers but also the batsmen did well. The Welsh innings lasted for 26 overs for just 54 runs. Our five bowlers bowled well with Rex Bennett's 5 for 8 off 7 overs the highlight. Ian Southall had two wickets.

Members of the Blaenavon Male Voice Choir performed two brackets of songs before and after dinner making this a most enjoyable and memorable evening.

 It had been a great day.