Worrigee's Gary Fuss has guided NSW to a gutsy undefeated run in the Australian Over 50 National Carnival last week in Adelaide.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 55-year-old all-rounder has been playing cricket since the age of five and has showed no signs of slowing down, with his ace bowling skills notorious throughout the region.
Fuss was named to the NSW side after a strong run at the over 55 carnival on the North Coast where his full skillset on the green displayed.
"I did pretty well up there, so I might my name in the ring and I was lucky enough to be selected to go to Adelaide," he said.
Heading to South Australia with teammates he had never played alongside was daunting but he said it was "remarkable" how well they clicked and got along as a team.
"It was really weird, we all just sort of clicked as a team, I'd never met any of them in my life but we instantly worked well together," Fuss said.
The NSW side faced off against Victoria in their first match of the tournament.
The Vics won the toss and opted to bat. Fuss summoned his a-game right away however, securing five wickets in the match.
It was dominant bowling display with Fuss having three wickets in one over alone.
NSW had to chase Victoria's runs but they did so without much worry and took home their first win of the tournament.
Next they battled Tasmania. NSW batted first, securing 230 runs with Fuss notching 24 runs from 11 balls.
With the ball Fuss was yet again just as good taking 6/16 in another dominant display.
Game three against QLD was an annihilation by NSW. While their opponent batted first, NSW rolled them for 110 with Fuss only having to bowl four overs.
They finished the week top in their division and booked their ticket to the grand final against the other division's QLD side.
In the grand final, NSW batted first to the tune of 254 runs, which put a sizeable amount of pressure on their opposition to match.
QLD did their best but ran out of overs at the 206 run mark.
Fuss took a single wicket in the match but said "the style of play this match was mainly about containment."
NSW took home the win and along with it the tournament title.
Fuss took home the most wickets for any NSW teams across the competition and was also named in the Team of the Tournament out of 44 other teams competing.
"It was one of those carnivals where I was lucky enough to have everything go right," he said.
"I don't play for accolades, I just play for the love of the game. It was very humbling to get up on stage and be picked in the team of the tournament, it's a very cool recognition."
"The best of it is when your teammates are happy for you - sometimes it can be the complete opposite - so to have such a supportive group around me there was just great."
Fuss said the biggest honour was being the only representative from the Shoalhaven region in the tournament.
"It was pretty amazing to represent as the only player from down this way and it was incredible that we were able to come away as champions," he said.
Fuss plays second grade locally for the Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemens Cricket Club and said his "love for the game" continues to bring him back.
"There's so many things that I love about cricket, but at the top would be the relationships with your teammates that only get better as you get older
"But also the challenge because if you're bowling, your challenge is against the batsman and if your're batting your challenge is against the bowler, it keeps the mind always thinking."
"I've done pretty well, I've had a good run in my lifetime and I feel very lucky to still be playing now."