For the first time in 30 years, Adam Jones will not grace a cricket field during the summer.
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At age 36, the longstanding Bective East captain has retired, although he hopes to play grade cricket with his sons, Riley, 9, and Cooper, 7, at some stage.
The inspiration for wanting to do that is the relationship he had with his father, Wayne, as a child. Due to a player shortage, Jones was 10 years old when he played his first match for Bective East, drafted into the third-grade side while watching Wayne play.
Father and son put on a partnership of more than 100 that match. “I remember it very well,” Jones said, adding: “I played my first fourth-grade season at 12 [years old].”
The following season, Jones and his father won the third-grade premiership with the Bulls. “It was pretty special, and I hope I can do the same with my boys,” Jones said.
He said not being part of the season launch on October 6 “felt very different but nice”. He added: “I spent most of last Saturday [October 6) working … and it [the round] got washed out this week, so I probably haven’t had too much thought about it yet.”
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He captained the Bulls for 13 of the past 15 seasons, debuting in first grade at age 14 and staying there for 22 seasons as he became one of Tamworth cricket’s most accomplished batsman.
Jones, Bective’s vice president, has handed the captaincy to 19-year-old Jye Paterson, who also worked his way through the grades at the club. “He’s a leader, and has been from a young age,” Jones said. “We thought there’s no better person to take over from me than Jye, at the moment.”
Since 2011-12, when MyCricket stats on Jones began, the former NSW Country representative scored 3163 runs in 96 matches at 40.55 and with a highest score of 171 not out, while taking 109 wickets, at 14.71 apiece, bowling self-described “medium pace skidders” – his best figures 5-19.
