Felsted’s Director of Sport, Charlie Knightley, has been selected for the England Over 50’s Cricket Squad for the upcoming World Cup, hosted by South Africa, in Cape Town.
The 2023 Over 50’s World Cup will be the largest ever international over 50’s tournament, with 14 teams participating. All 56 matches will be live-streamed.
The tournament started on 6 March and England will play six pool games against Namibia, UAE, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Wales. The other group is made up of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The top four teams progress to the semi-finals with the other teams playing out for the remaining places.
Immediately after the World Cup, England will also have two fixtures v Australia in the Ashes battle before returning back to the UK. This will certainly test the fitness of the 18 man squad with 10 games in a short period of time.
Charlie travels as one of the two wicket-keepers/batsmen in the squad and gained selection after an impressive debut season with the Essex Over 50s in the ECB 50+ County Championship Competition in 2022. Charlie battled at number 3 and scored 553 runs at 69.13 with a highest score of 171. Essex won the County Championship for the 3rd consecutive year, beating Middlesex in the final at Arundel Castle on September 11 2022. Prior to the World Cup selection, Charlie made his debut for England in the win over the West Indies in July 2022.
Felsted Head Chris Townsend, commented; ‘We are all incredibly proud of Charlie, he thoroughly deserves this opportunity to represent his country. He’s a great inspiration to our students who aspire to follow their passions. We wish Charlie the very best of luck and the whole Felsted family will be cheering him on.’
Charlie comments; ‘I feel extremely privileged to have been selected for England and I am very thankful for the support of the Felsted community. Having been at Felsted since 2001, I have always stressed the importance to the pupils of continuing with their sport after leaving school and I hope this reinforces that sport is for all ages! I would like to thank some close friends and family, as well as the touring ‘Strollers’ for their support in helping me travel to SA. I am also fortunate to have been backed by the Essex 50+ set up and especially Mel Hussain, who as Captain, selected me for the team.’
Overseen by Felsted’s experienced Director of Cricket, Jason Gallian (ex-England, Essex & Notts player), the School has a formidable reputation for cricket both locally, regionally and nationally. Several Old Felstedians have gone on to become professionals for Essex and England, including Derek Pringle, John Stephenson, Nick Knight and Tim Phillips. Indeed, Monty C, a current Year 12 student, has just recently been selected for the Essex Cricket U18’s squad and Jessica O, Year 13, continues to shine for the Sunrisers. Cricket for girls is a main sport option alongside the boys, under the expert tuition of Alice Macleod, Head of Felsted girls’ cricket and two-time Super League winner
Categories: Felsted School School News
