I loved coming out of retirement to play for Lancs over-70s, admits DAVID 'BUMBLE' LLOYD, I just wish I'd remembered my box!

After 15 years of not playing cricket, there was a lot to remember when I agreed to come out of retirement for Lancashire Over 70s this week.

Unfortunately, the one thing yours truly forgot to pack was a protective box.

It meant readying myself to bat at No 3 against Staffordshire’s septuagenarians at Leyland Cricket Club, just outside Preston, with bat, pads and gloves supplied by New Balance and sporting two pairs of underpants, with a spare pair of socks stuffed between them to protect the family valuables.

Thankfully, there was not the kind of jeopardy that Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson posed in late 1974, when he shattered my Litesome protector into about 1,974 pieces.

In fact, nobody on either side of Thursday’s 40-over match possessed enough pace to knock the bails off — in contrast to the previous evening’s pre-match net at Sheriff Hutton Bridge, my local club in North Yorkshire, a three-hour drive away.

I banned a 13-year-old redhead fast bowler called Reuben from bowling at me and told Sam, two years his senior and already standing 6ft 2in, the same went for him. The pair of them are following in the footsteps of Matt Fisher, who started with the club before playing for Yorkshire and England.

I hit the side netting when trying to bowl my left-arm spin that evening and things did not improve when I was asked to turn my arm over in the match itself the following day, my stock ball being the half-tracker. I got clattered everywhere, returning figures of 2-0-22-0. But my batting was the reason David Makinson, a Lancashire player in the 1980s and now a member of the Over 60s team, had got in touch with my son Graham and asked if I wanted to play.

They say it is like riding a bike, but even after some pre-match throw-downs, it felt like mine was still chained up until I got one down the leg side fourth ball and pulled it away for four.

Unfortunately, I’d got about 20 when I was called for a quick single and twanged my hamstring. So the majority of my 89 not out was made with the dismissed opening batsman Ian Caunce as my runner.

In a situation like that, you expect mishaps. But the other guys were so much better at judging singles than me. Whereas I was hitting the ball to fielders and saying ‘no’, anticipating the fielder picking the ball up and throwing the stumps down, they ran every time.

In fact, the only issue we had was when our captain Geoff Allen, who is not a great mover, set off for a single then realised there was a chance of a two.

You don’t get many twos at our age and the chance remained a fleeting one because his trousers came down as he turned. There were a lot of laughs.

As we prepared to go out after tea, one of the blokes politely inquired if anybody had any embrocation cream. I’d not heard that one for a long time.

The dressing room does not change, however old you are. It is a place of great camaraderie and I loved being there as all the stories circulated.

It was said I’ve had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra, but I’m loving this particular encore.

Staffordshire were simply too good for us and deserving eight-wicket winners, chasing down their 183-run target with 26 deliveries unused.

For us, it is three defeats from three, but the only way is up and a sign of my enjoyment level is that I will be doing all I can to be fit for the big one next Thursday when Cheshire come to Formby.

An unbeaten 89 is a very good start and even better for the average. I am not sure it counts on my first-class record, but don’t worry — I will be checking.