A cricketer is preparing for his next big test after being selected to represent England in an over-60s cricket tour.

A cricketer is preparing for his next big test after being selected to represent England in an over-60s cricket tour.

Trevor Shales, 61, of Falcon Court, will be flying out to Australia in the autumn to take part in a game down under.

Mr Shales said: “I was really chuffed at being chosen. It was pretty awesome.”

He also went on a tour with the team last February when they played two test matches against Barbados and drew 1-1, and he added: “They were both really good games – they were really close.”

At 61, he said he is one of the younger players taking part.

“As people get older there is no reason why they have got to give up playing sport.

“I know quite a few guys locally who could get in the county side but do not go for it.

“Physically I can’t do what I could when I was 20 or 30 but I have learnt what works for me now. You can get better at things as you get older.

“Kids develop at different ages but so do adults.”

Mr Shales, a former teacher, started playing cricket when he was five-years-old, when he grew up on the Shrublands pre-fab estate, near Gorleston.

“I remember these massive cricket matches at night in the summer where 20 kids would play.

“Everyone would bowl and field. I don’t think we had teams, we just played.”

One fond memory of his childhood playing cricket was when he played for his junior school team at Wroughton and they beat a secondary school team in Claydon.

Throughout his life he has played cricket and has also coached.

He is currently a coach for Chance to Shine in Lowestoft, and Great Yarmouth Cricket Club – where he also plays – and he also trains teams in Hales and Loddon.

He will be taking part in a game against Australia in November and said he is now looking for sponsorship to help cover some of the costs of getting out there.