Friday 22 August 2008

More Pensioners than U-16's


Yesterday the Office of National Statistics revealed that for the first time ever there are more pensioners than under 16's in the County Championship.

They have shown that the population of young cricketers has been in decline since 1995 and for the first time ever has dropped below the number of county pros of a pensionable age.

The fastest growing age group is the over 80's, who currently make up around 4.5% of the players on county books. They put this down to the result of improvements in mortality at older ages over the second half of the 20th century and the continued success of Graeme Hick.

Mervyn Kohler, special adviser at Help the Aged, said: "The key task for policy makers going forward is to ensure that older people can increasingly play an active role in our ageing [county championship].

Ageing Middlesex Twirler Shaun Udal may have said; "Its nice to feel part of the community and keep myself active. I like to do word jumbles as well to keep my mind alert".

The Raggy Bear salutes our ageing entertainers and hopes for many more years of cricketing service from them. Its much better than a bunch of hoodies.

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