Essex Over-70s player Marcus Young played an instrumental role in helping England Cricket 70s retain the Silver Ashes and World Cup titles.
Young, a long-standing Essex Over-70s player, took 20 wickets across the tour, including four-wicket hauls against Canada and the USA. He also had a high-score of 49 with the bat, while making an unbeaten 29 in the World Cup Final.
On 5 March 2026, England 70s beat Australia 70s by 15 runs in the International Masters Cricket Over-70s World Cup Final to be crowned back-to-back world champions.
The success on the world stage came just weeks after England secured a 3-0 whitewash over the same opponents in the Silver Ashes.
The Down Under tour, sponsored by Assured Data Protection, ran from 28 January to 5 March, starting in Adelaide and finishing at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand.
England began the tour as the current holders of the Silver Ashes, which they won in 2023, and the inaugural Over-70s World Cup champions after lifting the trophy on home soil in 2024.
Led by captain John Evans and manager Chris Lowe, the current group of players and staff lost just one One-Day International across the entire tour, underlining England’s status as the leading team in Over-70s cricket.
After a series of warm-up games, the Silver Ashes began at Karen Rolton Oval, where an all-round performance from Jim Phillips (1/5 from nine overs and 59) secured a seven-wicket victory.
The second ODI proved much closer, with England edging over the line by a single run in an energy-sapping encounter that included a heat break during Australia’s chase of 229. Leg-spinner Stuart Nye successfully defended 13 runs in the final over.
Temperatures returned to normal for the final ODI, with Derek Towe’s 87 and Phillips’ 3/26 guiding England to a 26-run victory and a 3-0 series sweep.
The squad then crossed the Tasman Sea to New Zealand and began their World Cup campaign with routine wins over India and Canada.
A setback followed as England lost by six wickets to Australia, despite impressive innings from Towe (86*) and Neil Calvert (85).
England responded with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka and a 112-run win against the USA before the weather — a recurring issue throughout the tournament — forced their match against New Zealand to be abandoned with the hosts struggling at 51/5.
Despite several injuries, a dominant display against the Emerging Nations secured England’s place in the final at the prestigious Hagley Oval against Australia. In the showpiece match, Phillips wrote his name into the history books with a magnificent 118 in the first innings.
He shared a 183-run opening partnership with Chris Evans (79) as England posted 288/3, a total that proved 15 runs too many for Australia.
After the World Cup Final, England 70s manager Chris Lowe said: “For an England cricket team to travel to Australia and win an Ashes series 3-0, then travel to New Zealand and win a World Cup tournament to retain the trophy they won two years ago, is a great achievement.
"For a squad of 70-year-olds to do that over a five-week period is simply immense and a testament to the character, skills and fitness of every player in the squad.”
John Evans (Captain, Gloucestershire), Nick Andrews (Cambridgeshire/Hunts), Martin Burgess (Sussex), Neil Calvert (Lincolnshire/Ridings), Terry Edwards (Kent), Chris Evans (Surrey), Peter Hayes (Worcestershire), Andy Mackle (Lincolnshire/Ridings), Stuart Nye MBE (Cornwall), Jim Phillips (Kent), David Robinson (Hertfordshire), Steve Sheppard (Somerset), Chris Swadkin MBE (Kent), Chris Tarrant (Kent), David Tee (Staffordshire/Derbyshire), Derek Towe (Vice-Captain, Kent), Marcus Young (Essex).
Chris Lowe (Manager), Charles Bury (Assistant Manager), John Eyre (Silver Ashes Umpire), Mike Walton (Scorer).
1st February – South Australia @ Park 25, Adelaide – Won by 108 runs
3rd February – Australia Over 65s @ Park 25, Adelaide – Lost by 28 runs
5th February – Invitational XI @ Adelaide University – Lost by 7 wickets
7th February – First ODI @ Karen Rolton Oval – Won by 7 wickets
9th February – New South Wales @ Howell Oval – Lost by 4 wickets
11th February – Second ODI @ Howell Oval – Won by 1 run
13th February – Third ODI @ Joe McAleer Oval – Won by 26 runs
20th February – India @ St Bede’s College – Won by 10 wickets
22nd February – Canada @ Ashburton Domain – Won by 120 runs
24th February – Australia @ Bert Sutcliffe Oval – Lost by 6 wickets
26th February – Sri Lanka @ Main Power Oval – Won by 6 wickets
27th February – USA @ Sydenham Park – Won by 112 runs
1st March – New Zealand @ Ashburton Domain - Abandoned
4th March – Emerging Nations @ Mandeville – Won by 168 runs
5th March – Australia (Final) @ Hagley Oval – Won by 15 runs
Everyone at Essex Cricket congratulates Marcus and the England Over 70s for their triumphs!
