PJ 40s Grab Their First State Championships!

State Championships

The 2023/24 season saw Port Jackson’s over 40s compete for the State Championships in Ballina in October, sending two strong teams to compete following a series of selection trials. The selectors had the luxury of choosing a touring squad from a large pool of nominations from across Sydney’s Masters, Grade, Shires and Districts competitions.

Having managed to send four teams to compete the season prior, this year our talent was condensed into Blue and Red teams, both full of class and experience.

The Reds were skippered by Ryan Talbot and won one of their three matches whilst the Blues, skippered by Danny Batra won all three matches including the final against locals Far North Coast. Our 10 wicket win in the final showed the strength of the line-up and was an indicator of the coming NSW and Australian squad announcements.

NSW and Australian Selections

Nine PJ players were selected for the National Championships played in Brisbane in November. As NSW won the title it was Port Jackson’s very own Dave Kelly who was the MVP with an unbeaten 67 to beat the hosts by two wickets.

In February all eyes were on the inaugural over 40s World Cup in South Africa. The Aussies went down in a close semi-final. Throughout the tournament the four Port Jackson players selected performed with aplomb. Cos Beadle scored runs like they were going out of fashion. Greg Hunt was a class act in the top order. Danny Batra chipped in with valuable runs and overs. And Ryan Snape was amongst the wickets.

The fact that our players are not only making rep sides, but performing at every level shows the depth of Port Jackson cricket and is also a tribute to the hard work of the committee.

The next stop on the representative calendar is the Cooper Finlay Cup, with Port Jackson again being well represented.

What's Next?

Whilst it will be difficult to get better results and representation next season, that’s certainly what we’re aiming for. As interest and awareness grows in the 40s age group we hope to attract even more quality cricketers and personalities into the PJ community.

Andrew Dadswell

Port Jackson Over 40s

Committee Member