THE cricketing talent of Malvern rolled back the years on Sunday as the Colwall Golden Oldies met the Barnards Ever Greens at Stowe Lane in the inaugural over-40s contest for the Alastair Smith Trophy.

The Green won the toss on a damp morning and elected to bat. They made a steady start, with Dave Creese accumulating 39, but Colwall's demanding captain, Kim Berry, inspired a superb fielding performance and runs were hard to come by.

Some late big hitting by Ian Scullion (50) and Chris Hill (35) took the visitors' score to 200 all out in the 40th over. Colwall's best bowlers, Clive Kendall (4-13) and Alastair Smith, who bought 2- 44 in his four overs, were supported by five excellent catches.

At lunch, the teams were entertained to an excellent spread by Damian Berry of Berry's Sandwiches, St Johns. After the break, Colwall openers Nils Purser (57) and Richard Williams (50) savaged the Green attack with a stand of 109 in 17 overs. By this time, two of the Ever Greens had to leave the field injured, Ken Williams with a gashed shin fielding in the covers, and wicket keeper Robin Longmore with a blow to the head from a thick edge. An ambulance arrived and the two patients recovered after expert treatment from paramedic.

The Colwall momentum was sustained by Kendall (22), Brian Goode (36) and John Berry (26) and their target was reached with more than two overs to spare.

The evening concluded with speeches and presentations in a noisy Colwall clubhouse.