After a 30 year break from playing cricket, for my School Old Boys team - The Old Vigornians (https://oldvigornians.play-cricket.com/home), I recently returned to the game, not as part of a glory days comeback, but as a father alongside my two sons, aged 14 and 12. What began fun games in the garden has grown into a regular shared activity that now sees all three of us on the same pitch, playing together.
It has proven to be one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve made, not only for my own physical and mental health, but for the strength of our collective family bond.
The Rare Opportunity of Intergenerational Sport
Cricket is unusual in that it allows people of very different ages and abilities to play together in a meaningful way. While sports such as football or rugby tend to separate players by age or level of intensity, cricket makes space for multi-generational participation, particularly in local club or friendly settings. We play for Peppard Stoke Row CC (https://peppardstokerow.play-cricket.com/home)
There are very few sporting environments where a father can field beside his son or daughter , share a partnership at the crease, or bowl in the same attack. It offers a rare blend of individual responsibility and team effort, where experience complements youthful energy and vice versa.
Benefits Beyond the Boundary
1. Reconnecting with different Movement patterns
As I’ve reached a big birthday milestone this year, cricket has provided a practical and sustainable way to reintroduce structured movement into my busy life. The combination of walking, sprinting (well running), throwing, bowling and batting provides a varied and joint-friendly form of exercise that is adaptable depending on fitness level. For adults returning to sport, it strikes an excellent balance between effort and recovery. It has emphasised to me and made me stretch before and after each game which has had a huge impact on my overall wellbeing. As a busy knee surgeon operating several days a week certainly plays havoc with your posture. After just a few games of cricket this summer in combination with the stretching I have done in the subsequent few days, I feel so much more supple and generally healthier in my core, lower back, and legs.
2. Modelling Lifelong Activity
By returning to sport in my fifties, I hope to show my sons that physical activity does not stop after school or university. Cricket has become a visible, weekly reminder that sport can and should remain part of life well into adulthood.
3. Mental Refreshment
Long afternoons in the field, breaks between overs, and the shared camaraderie of a team environment have all brought mental clarity and space that is often hard to find in the busyness of modern society. Cricket slows things down. It rewards patience, attentiveness, and reflection, qualities which are increasingly valuable both on and off the pitch.
Reflections for Other Parents
If you are a parent with a background in sport, I would strongly encourage considering a return, particularly if your children are now at an age where they can participate alongside you. While cricket may be uniquely suited to this kind of joint involvement, other sports, such as tennis, golf, cycling, or even park run events can also offer similar opportunities for connection and mutual growth.
This experience has been a reminder that sport is not just something we watch or used to do. It is something we can share, and in doing so, shape relationships and memories that last far longer than any match.
Nev Davies
