Sally Barton scripted history by becoming the oldest debutant in international cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter achieved the feat when she made her debut for Gibraltar. She featured for the team in the second of their three-match T20I series against Estonia.
The bilateral affair was held at the Europa Sports Complex. At 66 years and 334 days, Barton broke the record of Portugal's Akbar Saiyad (66 years and 12 days) to achieve the distinction of being the oldest debutant in international cricket.
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It is pertinent to note that Sally, a grandmother of three, also worked as a lecturer in mathematics at the London School Of Economics (LSE), but decided to retire after the Coronavirus pandemic.
You Should Not Let Anyone Tell You It Is Time To Stop Playing Sport: Barton
"The words 'too old' just aren't in my vocabulary. I never thought I would play international cricket in my sixties, but it goes to show that you should not let anyone tell you it is time to stop playing sport," Barton told BBC Sport.
"We play on an artificial pitch in Gibraltar so the bounce can make wicketkeeping tricky at times, but I've developed my unique style. I might not be as fast as I used to be, but my endurance and everything is still there. My overriding memory of my debut, though, is the efforts of my team-mates to get that win," she added.
Even though Barton did not get to bat in her debut game, Gibraltar ended up winning the contest by a handsome margin of 128 runs. She did a good work behind the stumps. Even though she did not get to affect a catch or a run out, she ended up conceding only a single bye in the entire innings.