Ashington's John Woolley makes his first team Saturday cricket debut at the age of 41

The Nottingham-born right hander came off the pitch with his team-mates after the Mighty Acorns had claimed a winning draw against Chester-le-Street where Woolley opened the batting and pocketed a catch in the visitors’ innings.

And after spending 20 years away from the game, Woolley was doubly delighted.

He was called up to make his first team debut for the Wansbeck-based outfit in Saturday cricket at the age of 41 – and was pleased that he had proved a ‘few people’ wrong!

“I initially played down in Derbyshire but finished when I was about 18/19 years old,” he said.

“I had a period of 20 years away from the game before a friend of mine said to me ‘come for a winter net’ which I did and I started playing again in the West Tyne League for Stamfordham.

“I then trained at Ashington and was told by a few people that I would never make the second team. I was determined to succeed and I think I’ve done a good job this year with the amount of runs I have scored. I was then told I would never make it to the first team – but today I made my Saturday debut and have proved a few people wrong.”

Woolley opened the batting with Jack Jessop and was going along well until he was caught just inside the boundary for 17.

“I was happy and felt really comfortable,” he added.

“I’ve chipped one up to mid-on which should have been a six but the fielder has got round to it.”

Chester-le-Street were cruising until Ashington hit back – with Woolley holding onto a catch at cover to dismiss Andrew Smith.

“The ball hung in the air for quite a while but it was nice to take it,” he said.

“Now I’m looking to kick on and I’ll always be there to play if they need me. However, I appreciate that I’m 41 years old, there’s youth in the squad and Alexander Charnley especially has done really well today with a 50.”

He added: “I love the club and it’s got a special place in my heart.”