Nairn County Cricket Club chairman Mike Davies playing at the Over-60's World Cup in India at age of 64
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MIKE Davies thought the opportunity of competing on the world stage had gone at the age of 64.
However, he is in Chennai in India competing at the International Masters Cricket Over-60’s World Cup.
The Nairn County Cricket Club chairman has been selected to play for the Rest of the World team at the tournament which got underway last week and will conclude on Monday.
Having only moved to Nairn in 2019 when he joined the cricket club, he says being selected to compete at the tournament has capped off an incredible personal journey over the last five years.
“I arrived in Nairn in 2019 having retired from teaching in 2016,” said Davies.
“I played against Nairn for the Forty Club Scotland District in 2019, not expecting the club to be interested in a 60-year-old.
“However, I found myself as captain in 2020 and 2021 and now chairman for the last two years as well as looking after the ground at Nairn.
“Perhaps this time in Chennai is the culmination of an incredible cricket journey over the last five years.”
Before moving to Nairn, Davies worked in teaching and was director of sport at Glenalmond College in Perthshire before retiring in 2016.
Davies is making his debut for the Rest of the World at the Over-60’s World Cup.
There were originally 14 teams taking part in the tournament with each group having seven teams.
However, the tournament was reduced to 12 when Bangladesh and Pakistan were not granted visas.
In their first group match, the Rest of the World lost by three wickets to the West Indies and the following day were beaten by Australia.
They then lost to Wales by 30 runs before getting their first win on Friday when they chased down 300 to beat India.
The Rest of the World were due to play Sri Lanka in their final group game yesterday before playing crossover games against teams from the other group tomorrow and Friday.
Davies says the Rest of the World squad features a number of Scottish players and hopes it can be the catalyst for Scotland to have its own team in the 2026 World Cup.
Davies said: “This is my first call up for the Rest of the World. They produced a team to fill a gap in the first International Masters Cricket World Cup in Australia in 2022.
“One Scot called Jerry Smith played. We had both played against England O60s for Scotland O60s earlier in that summer and he recognised an opportunity to get Scottish players more involved in the IMC. Consequently, nine Scotland based players were invited to join the RoW squad.
“The Scottish O60s team is still in its infancy compared with playing numbers in England where many counties have three or four teams. We played in a quadrangular tournament last September against England, England A and Wales having played Wales and Australia earlier in the summer.
“This World Cup is presenting a great opportunity for the Scottish players to produce a Scotland team at the 2026 event. That said, being part of a RoW team and sharing cricket experiences with a former Kenyan international Asif Karim and others from countries not able to enter a team is a wonderful experience and great honour.”
Davies is enjoying the experience of playing at a World Cup in India where the sport is almost a religion. It has inspired him to continue his international career and look to compete at another World Cup in two years time.
He said: “All games have been played around Chennai with journeys to the different grounds giving us amazing insights into the hustle and bustle, colour and poverty of Chennai’s streets.
“Pitches have been excellent – quite unexpected given that traditionally over here they have low bounce and take plenty of spin. The heat has been a massive challenge – playing in temperatures over 32 degrees. My preparation was in three degrees on the artificial pitch on The Links at Nairn with my wife, son and friends feeding in the bowling machine.
“My two sons arrived on Friday to support the old man – they are determined to keep me going to try and make the 2026 World Cup, hopefully with a Scotland team.”
