Graham Goodwood

GRAHAM Goodman, a one handicap golfer from Saffron Walden Golf Club and a new member of the town’s cricket club, has been selected for the Essex over 50 cricket team for the ECB national cricket championships.

The first match in the series is against Middlesex away next week.

Goodman was a member of the Walden scratch team that one the CAGU Division One title in 2007 and recently was runner up in the CAGU matchplay championship beating a number of county A players in the process.

This year he hopes to go one better and also with his partner, Steve Plumb, a former minor county cricketer, go one better in the county foursomes matchplay. They reached the semi-final two years ago.

Cricket returned to Goodman’s life having played county level and representative level in his teenage years when he hit that magical 50 number early this year.

He will open the batting for Essex with Chris Gladwin and play alongside other Essex past cricketers.

Goodman said: “It is great to get back in to cricket again and I want to thank Kevin Duers, cricket coach and Friend’s school teachers Ray Mordini and Nick Batchelor, for letting me practice in the first class sporting facilities at Friends’ school in order for me to reach this goal.”