WHEN Geoff Newman and the late Keith Croton decided to form a Two Counties Over-50s team, little did they realise how it would grow over the years.It was back in 1987 that the Over-50s first made their bow with just a single fixture against the Suffolk Over-50s.

WHEN Geoff Newman and the late Keith Croton decided to form a Two Counties Over-50s team, little did they realise how it would grow over the years.

It was back in 1987 that the Over-50s first made their bow with just a single fixture against the Suffolk Over-50s.

Twenty years on and on the eve of a new season, the Two Counties Over-50s boast a fixture list of 27 games and in addition there will be nine over-60s games, including one against an Australian team.

The success of Seniors cricket over the past two decades has undoubtedly, in the main, been down to Geoff Newman, who played for Maldon for more than half-a-century and is still involved with the Essex club today.

Now 74, Geoff has watched Seniors cricket go from strength to strength. In the first 10 years he captained the side and since retiring as a player has managed and organised all the fixtures and has a playing membership of around 80 at his disposal.

At the recent annual winter get-together, Geoff was honoured to mark the 20th anniversary of the Two Counties Over-50s and now Over-60s.

He was presented with a decanter in an inscribed silver sleeve, a bottle of vintage brandy and a cheque for £400 - a result of donations from all the playing members, such is his popularity.

Looking back over the past 20 years, Geoff said: “Some of the most enjoyable cricket I played has been with the Over-50s. So many friendships have been forged. It's like a huge club and family. Everybody seems to enjoy everybody else's company”.

Geoff is only one of four captains of the Over-50s, the others being the late John Ellis (one year), John McNally (three years) and Phil Cox for the last six.

The fixture list has grown at a rapid rate and in addition to the total of 36 Over-50s and Over-60s fixtures the Two Counties enter a team in the Seniors Inter-League Tournament (Over-50s) of which they are the holders.

And this year for the first time, there will be an Over-60s Four Team Tournament to be held at Ipswich CC, Clay Hall, Copdock on Saturday, September 22.