Cricket: Brendan Rixon celebrates his 250th game for North Tamworth

The 38-year-old star batter for North Tamworth has had the good fortune to play alongside his brother, Michael, for many years.

And though he is nearing 40, Rixon hopes to play for at least another handful of years so that he can take the field with his son, Oscar.

"He's turning eight in a couple of months, so in four or five years I wouldn't mind having a game with him," Rixon said.

"That'd be pretty cool."

It is a tradition that began with Rixon and his father. The pair played a couple of seasons together when he young teenager, which Rixon said was "a lot of fun".

The love of the game instilled in him early has carried Rixon through more than 20 years of playing for North Tamworth. And on Saturday, he celebrated his 250^th game for the club during their win over South Tamworth at Riverside 1.

Having started playing for the Redbacks in the late 90s, Rixon said the milestone was a "pretty good" one to tick off.

"It's been a big part of my cricketing life, and there are a lot of people there that are lifelong mates," he said.

"It's good to celebrate those little milestones, I actually didn't know about it until Saturday. It came as a bit of a surprise, but a nice one."

The match itself was the first of the season for the Redbacks, who produced a gritty performance to mark Rixon's 250^th with a win.

After winning the toss, North Tamworth elected to bowl first and, despite some occasionally slipshod fielding, restricted Souths to 9-143.

"We dropped a lot of catches, but we bowled okay considering it was our first game," Rixon said.

The wickets were spread fairly evenly among the Redbacks' bowlers, and their run chase began in earnest as Joe Holt and Michael Rixon steered them towards the target.

A cluster of wickets fell after the drinks break as North Tamworth pursued the bonus point, but they reached the target six wickets down with more than seven overs remaining.

"There was a couple of butterflies [in the last few overs], but we got there in the end," Rixon said.

It was, he added, "good to get a win" both in his milestone game and to get the season off on the right foot for the Redbacks.

Younger brother Michael, whose 64 was key in getting North Tamworth home on Saturday, said he was "very lucky" to have played alongside Brendan for so long.

"We have very similar interests and get along very well," Michael said.

"We've played a lot of cricket and rugby together, and it's been very good to share those moments. I'm sure that when we're done, we're really going to appreciate that more than any other personal achievement."

The club, Michael added, makes a point of celebrating landmark games and records for its players, and he was happy to see his brother's "amazing achievement" recognised.

"He's a big part of Norths, and certainly a great leader for our club," he said.

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