Village cricket side fields players aged 7 and 77

Two village cricketers with a 70-year age gap between them have ended their club's season by lining up in the same side.

Frank Smith, 77, and seven-year-old George both played for Fleckney Village Cricket Club in Leicestershire on Sunday.

Mr Smith has been playing for the club since 1976 but it was George's first match with the adult side.

They helped their side to victory in a friendly against Fleckney Rising Stars.

Chris Walsh, the club's welfare officer, said the game was arranged after they struggled to find opponents.

"We advertised for opposition but a lot of the clubs had wrapped up because it was getting cold," he said.

"We thought it would be a shame to waste it [the fixture slot] so I got a team together called Fleckney Rising Stars because it had quite a few younger players in there."

However, on the day Fleckney Village was one player short - so George stepped up.

"I think he's the youngest player we've ever had on the pitch," Mr Walsh said.

"That was his first ever hard-ball senior game. He's played a couple of times for the youth team, his dad was also in the team."

The young player bowled and batted and managed to score a handful of runs before being caught out.

His older team-mate Frank joined the club a year after it formed while working as a teacher in Wigston.

Now he travels across the county from Coalville to play.

Mr Walsh said: "Everyone knows Frank. He doesn't stop playing - a Saturday or Sunday without a game of cricket is really unheard of for him. He absolutely loves it."

He said the club struggled to compete with neighbouring village teams that play to a very high standard so they had prioritised inclusivity.

"We're never going to compete with them so we do things differently," he said.

"Everyone's welcome, anyone can play from all walks of life, genders, abilities, you name it we'll have you."

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