Sussex's Martin Burgess wins Silver Ashes and World Cup with England 70s

Sussex's Martin Burgess, wicketkeeper and captain of the Sussex 70+ 1st XI, was a member of the England 70s Cricket Team who have recently returned from a successful tour Down Under.

They won both the Silver Ashes and the Over-70s World Cup.

Congratulations, Martin!

Full press release:

England Cricket 70s retain their Silver Ashes and World Cup titles in a memorable tour. 

Last Thursday (5th March), the 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 securing a 3-0 whitewash over the same opponents in the Silver Ashes. 

The Down Under Tour, sponsored by Assured Data Protection, ran from 28th January to 5th March after starting in Adelaide and finishing at the Hagley Oval in New Zealand. 

The England team embarked on the tour as the current holders of the Silver Ashes, which were won in 2023, and the inaugural World Cup winners after doing so on home soil in 2024. 

The current group of players and staff, led by captain John Evans and manager Chris Lowe, only lost one One-Day International across the whole tour as the team underlined England’s status as the leading team in Over-70s cricket. 

After a series of warm-up games, the Silver Ashes kicked off at the Karen Rolton Oval, where an all-round performance from Jim Phillips (1/5 off nine overs and 59) secured a seven-wicket win. 

The second ODI proved to be a much closer affair, with England getting over the line by a single run in an energy-sapping encounter that saw a heat break during the Australian run chase of 229. Leg-spinner Stuart Nye successfully defended 13 off 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 win and a 3-0 series victory. 

The team then headed across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand and kicked off their World Cup campaign with routine victories over India and Canada. 

Then came a setback, as they lost by six wickets to Australia despite Towe (86*) and Neil Calvert’s (85) best efforts. 

A response came with a six-wicket win of their own over Sri Lanka and a 112-run win over the USA before the weather, which had been a constant annoyance throughout the tournament, saw England’s meeting with New Zealand abandoned with the hosts reeling at 51/5. 

Despite several injuries, a dominant display over the Emerging Nations booked a spot in the final at the prestigious Hagley Oval against Australia, and Phillips wrote his name into the history books with a magnificent 118 in the first innings. 

He shared a 183-run opening stand with Chris Evans (79) as England posted 288/3, which proved to be 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 each player in the squad.” 

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). 

Silver Ashes Results 

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 

World Cup Results 

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