Over-50s Player of the Year for 2024, Roy Smith, is one of four Essex players selected in the England squad for next February’s IMC Over-50s World Cup.
Alongside Smith, who plays for Westcliff, the defending champions have included Giles Ecclestone, Charlie Knightley, and Alex Richards in their 18-strong squad.
Smith is a hard-hitting right-hander who hit 523 runs at an average of 74.71 in 2024, while Ecclestone, of Saffron Walden, is a similarly-aggressive left-hander with over 3,000 runs for the Eagles’ Over-50s.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Knightley, from High Roding & Felsted, is a left-hander who has scored 1,610 runs in 36 innings for Essex with a high score of 171.
Rounding out the quartet is former Wanstead off-spinning all-rounder Richards, who also previously played for the Essex Second XI and is a multiple title-winning captain in the Essex and Surrey Leagues.
Due to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, between Sunday 09 and Sunday 23 February next year, the event will feature 14 teams, initially split into two pools.
England have been drawn into Pool A, alongside New Zealand, USA, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, UAE, and Namibia, and will begin their tournament against Zimbabwe on the opening day.
The pool stage will conclude on Tuesday 18 February, with the semi-finals, featuring the top two sides from each pool, taking place on Thursday 20, before the final three days later.
There will also be a system of play-offs taking place concurrently with the knockout matches, which will see every competing side given a ranking at the end of the competition.
England Squad for 2025 IMC Over-50s World Cup
David Snellgrove (Lancashire)*
Sean Cooper (Suffolk)
Kshitij Desai (Middlesex)
Giles Ecclestone (Essex)
Martyn Gidley (Leicestershire)
Tuan Hadgie (Middlesex)
Liam Hickey (Staffordshire)
Luke Jarvis (Yorkshire)
Charlie Knightley (Essex)
Naseer Ahmed (Middlesex)
Nick Phillips (Durham)
Alex Richards (Essex)
Marcus Sharp (Lancashire)
Roy Smith (Essex)
Richard Trotman (Gloucestershire)
Jason Whittaker (Lancashire)
Jon Wileman (Surrey)
Zulfi Butt (Buckinghamshire)
England Fixtures
Sunday 09 February | 04:45 GMT | Bandaragama: England v Zimbabwe
Wednesday 12 February | 04:45 GMT | Mount Lavinia: England v USA
Thursday 13 February | 04:45 GMT | Mercantile Ground: England v UAE
Saturday 15 February | 04:45 GMT | Colts CC: England v Sri Lanka
Monday 17 February | 04:45 GMT| Mount Lavinia: England v New Zealand
Tuesday 18 February | 04:45 GMT | Mercantile Ground: England v Namibia
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