JOHN Dedman is showing that cricket can still be enjoyed competitively, no matter your age.
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Dedman took up the challenge of playing for Australian seniors (over 60) squad in a touring series of New Zealand recently.
Dedman attended the national carnival in Melbourne, which was held in November to qualify for the team.
He was selected for the squad, which also played two One-Day International (ODI) full rules games.
His bowling leaves something to be desired, but he can still bat with the best of them.
“I bowled a few overs, but I am really there for the batting,” Dedman said with a laugh.
“I was fortunate enough to bat at the number three spot, which is a good place.”
The team played 14 games against New Zealand based squads, winning 10, a tie, and just three losses.
However, all the games had a “run retirement” rule, meaning players had to retire on 30 runs.
So it’s no surprise, the feature for Dedman was the two ODIs where the rule was scrapped and he could go to town.
“That was the only two games where we didn’t have that rule and it enabled me to get some bigger scores,” he said.
“In the other games I was able to retire on 30 five times.
“But with proper ODI rules it gave you a bit more time to compose your innings.”
Based on the runs Dedman slogged, you would think he was playing T20 rather than a full 50-over match.
“In the first one-day I got 97 runs off 87 balls,” Dedman said.
In the second, he scored 89 off 83 balls.
Scoring 97 in the first ODI, Dedman was part of Australia’s biggest partnership, posting 175 runs alongside Canberra’s Murray Harrison.
Thanks to tremendous batting, Australia was able to win both games.
The opportunity to travel was just an added bonus for Dedman, who said he was thrilled to play competitively.
“I think the whole point is that there is still hope for us old buggers,” he said with a laugh.
“To have a representative experience and a bit of fun, there is still incentive there to keep active.”
Following his performance, Dedman has been picked for the Australian team to take on England in England in June.
“I was just picked for the Australian side to tour England.
“So the next mission is to win the Ashes off the Poms.
“Apparently we’ve played them 11 times in the last few years and haven’t beaten them yet, so we’re really keen to do that.”