List of Oldest Players to Play Cricket
Table of content:
Introduction
Cricket is a sport that requires the expenditure of a lot of mental strength and stamina per game. Similar to most other popular sports in the world, athletes tend to retire from cricket after reaching a certain age. This is due to them not being able to keep up with the constant mental and physical strain that this sport requires. The average retirement age in cricket is considered to be between 35-40 years old. But some players have defied these odds to play their favorite game of cricket even at a much older age. Let’s have a look at the top 10 list comprised of old cricket players to play the sport internationally.
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Top 10 Oldest Players to Play Cricket
A Table of These Players with Statistics
1. Wilfred Rhodes
English cricketer Wilfred Rhodes was a player for the English side from 1899-1930. Born on July 8th, 1973, Rhodes made his international cricket debut back on June 1st, 1899 against Australia. He continued to play in a total of 58 Test games with the squad and played his final Test match against West Indies on April 3rd, 1930 at Sabina Park. He was of age 52 years and 165 days when he finally wrapped his international cricket career. This makes Wilfred Rhodes rank first on this list of old cricket players to have played the game in its history.
2. Bert Ironmonger
The second player on this list of old cricket players to have played the sport in its history is Australia’s left-handed batsman, Bert Ironmonger. Bert participated in 14 Test cricket matches with the official squad, starting with his debut against England on November 30th, 1928 at the Exhibition Ground. He wrapped up his career with the final Test match against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on February 23rd, 1933, at the age of 50 years and 327 days.
3. W.G. Grace
English cricketer, W.G. Grace was born back on July 18th of 1848. He started playing for the English side with his Test debut against Australia on September 6th, 1880 at the Kennington Oval. He played a total of 22 Test matches in his career, with his concluding one against Australia at Trent Bridge on June 1st, 1899, while at the age of 50 years and 320 days. He is the third player on this list of old cricket players to have played this sport in its history.
4. George Gunn
English cricketer Geroge Gunn started playing for the English men’s cricket team with his debut game against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on December 13th, 1907. Out of the 15 total matches that he played, he scored 1120 runs with a high score of 122 runs and a strike rate of 84.08. He played his last game on April 3rd, 1930 against West Indies and concluded his career at the age of 50 years and 303 days.
5. James Southerton
The fifth player on the list of old cricket players to have played the sport in its history, is English cricketer James Southerton. He started his international Test career against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 15th, 1877, and ended his career against the same opponents and at the same venue, 16 days later. He was 49 years and 139 days old when his short-lived cricket career ended after playing 2 Test matches. James is also the oldest debutant in the history of cricket.
6. Miran Bakhsh
Rawalpindi-born, Pakistani cricketer Miran Bakhsh is the sixth member on this list of old cricket players to have played the sport in its entire history. Baksh had also played only 2 matches in his career, starting with his debut Test match against India on January 29th, 1955, and ending with his last match against the same opponents, fifteen days later on February 13th, 1955. Bakhsh was 47 years and 302 days old at his last game, and he ranks second out of all old players in cricket to debut in the sport.
7. Sir Jack Hobbs
Born on December 16th, 1882, Sir Jack Hobbs was an English cricketer who started playing internationally with his debut game against Australia back on January 1st, 1908. He played a total of 61 Test matches and made 5410 runs in total. Hobbs’s last game was also against Australia, on August 16th, 1930, with which he completed his career at the age of 47 years and 249 days, making him the seventh person on the list of old cricket players to have played the sport.
8. Frank Woolley
English cricketer, Frank Woolley, began his international career against Australia at the Kennington Oval on August 9th, 1909. He participated in 64 total matches before playing his final game against the same opponent and at the same venue as his first game. His last Test match was on August 18th, 1934, and Woolley was of 47 years and 87 days old by the end of it, making him the seventh among the top 10 old cricketers of all time list.
9. Don Blackie
Australian cricketer, Don Blackie had a very short-lived international cricket career with only a total of 3 Test matches. His first Test match was on December 14th, 1928 and his last game was on February 1st, 1929, both against England. Don Blackie was at the age of 46 years old and 309 days old when he played for the final time at the international level. This makes him the ninth player among the list of very old cricketers to have played the game.
10. Herbert Strudwick
English cricketer Herbert Strudwick played for the English side from 1910 to 1926. His first match was against South Africa at the Old Wanderers on January 1st, 1910, while his last concluding Test match was played at the Kennington Oval on August 14th, 1926 against Australia. Herbert was of the age of 46 years and 202 days old during his last game, which makes him the tenth person on this list of old cricket players to have played the sport.
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