Sally Barton (born 23 May 1957) is an English-born cricketer who plays as a wicket-keeper for the Gibraltar women's national cricket team. She holds the world record for being the oldest person to play international cricket.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 23 May 1957[1] London, England | ||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | ||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| T20I debut (cap 12) | 21 April 2024 v Estonia | ||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 16 June 2024 v Croatia | ||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 16 June 2024 | |||||||||||||||
Biography
editBorn in London and raised in Ilford, Barton credits her parents - from Yorkshire and Lancashire - and her twin brother for fostering an early interest in cricket.[2]
While at school she represented Essex in junior cricket and Kent Invicta ladies.[3] She also played as wicket-keeper for Nottingham University men's 3rd XI during her student days.[2][4]
Barton's cricketing exploits were put on hold when she spent 10 years working as a Christian missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s[3][5][6] before returning to England.
While teaching at the London School of Economics,[3][4][7] she resumed playing cricket, turning out for the Heronettes in Wanstead.[3]
Barton moved to Gibraltar in 2020 after her husband, Ian Tarrant, an Anglican priest, was appointed Dean of Gibraltar and she began playing regularly in the men's domestic league on the British Overseas Territory.[2] Having fulfilled the eligibility criteria to represent Gibraltar, she participated in a T10 series taking two catches.[3][8]
On 21 April 2024, Barton became the oldest international cricketer - male or female - when she made her WT20I debut for Gibraltar against Estonia at the age of 66 years and 334 days, eclipsing the previous record held by Portugal's Akbar Saiyad who was aged 66 years and 12 days when he played a T20 against Finland in 2012.[2][3][4][6][7][8]
She also surpassed the all-time record for the oldest WT20I debutant, set by Guernsey player Philippa Stahelin, who made her first appearance against Jersey in 2019 when she was 58 years and 33 days old.[9]
In the record-breaking game, Barton played as wicket-keeper but was not involved in any dismissals, nor did she bat, as her team won the second of a three-match series at Europa Sports Park in Gibraltar by 128 runs.[2][7][10]
Having passed her 67th birthday a few weeks earlier, Barton was selected in the 12-player Gibraltar squad for the Women's Central Europe Cup to be held in the Czech Republic from 14 to 16 June 2024.[11] She played in all four of her side's matches at the Vinoř Cricket Ground in Prague as Gibraltar won the event which also featured the Czech Republic and Croatia.[12][13] Barton did not bat or take a catch or stumping but was involved in effecting a run-out in the final game against the Czechs.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ "Profile of Sally Barton". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e "Grandmother becomes oldest international cricketer". BBC Sport. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ a b c d e f "Meet Sally Barton: LSE's Political Science teacher-turned oldest T20I cricketer in history!". The Week. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ a b c "'Grandmother' Sally Barton wants to play for as long as possible after international debut at 66". crictracker.com. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "Former missionary becomes oldest ever debutant in International cricket". Premier Christian News. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ a b "Gibraltar Reader breaks record in international cricket". Church Times. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ a b c "'Grandmother' Sally Barton: Meet international cricket's oldest debutant at 66". India Today. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ a b "Sally Barton, Reader in Gibraltar, becomes the world's oldest international cricketer". Diocese in Europe. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ "Cricket Records for Women T20I Matches Oldest players on debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "Gibraltar Women vs Estonia Women". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ "Barton selected for Women's cricket squad". Gibraltar Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
- ^ "Women's Central Europe Cup". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Gibraltar's women's team wins Central Europe Cricket Cup". GBC. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
- ^ "Czech Republic Women vs Gibraltar Women". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Gibraltar Women Crowned Women's Cricket Central Europe Cup Champions". Gibraltar Chronicle. Retrieved 2024-06-19.