Cricketer takes 1,000th wicket 52 years after first

In 1974, ABBA won Eurovision, West Germany defeated Johan Cruyff's Netherlands in the World Cup final... and Nic Downes made his first appearance for Twyford and Ruscombe Cricket Club.

More than half a century on, the right arm spinner - who specialises in leg breaks - is now celebrating after taking his 1,000th wicket for the club.

Having finished the previous season for the Berkshire team stranded on 997 victims, the 68-year-old was scuppered early in this campaign by injury before returning to the side this month.

Coming in off just a few steps at Twyford's home ground on Saturday, Downes claimed his milestone wicket - Rich Fryatt of Elmhurst CC out LBW.

"It was just amazing and made all the more special because all of my teammates were probably more thrilled than I was," he said of that moment.

"Even the opposition, who I think had been tipped off they might be part of something special, were so generous in their congratulations.

"It was an absolutely fantastic day - very special."

Downes said he first began playing for Twyford and Ruscombe as a teenager, and in that time had seen plenty of highs and lows.

"[The club] means absolutely everything to me - lifelong friends, the camaraderie, the team spirit," he said.

The club "always had a really strong beating heart", he said, but had also faced some "difficult times", including when the team's former clubhouse burnt down.

"There were probably three or four years that were really tough, but we managed to move successfully and you know, here we are today," he said.

It was in 2005 that Downes started the club's youth section, after realising "we were all getting old together and.. getting an awful lot slower".

That went full circle for Nick on Saturday, when a player he had coached at junior level took the catch for his 999th wicket, which he said was "great fun".

"This is the lifeblood of cricket," Downes said of the village game.

As for his future goals, he said he would continue "bouncing up and down", adding: "Can't stop me now.

"I hope to take many more wickets for Twyford and Ruscombe yet, although my wife might wish this was my last season."