John Hind, 78, selected to play in the world's oldest age cricket match

Hind, who turns 79 next month, will be one of the youngest players on the field at the Holmes-Todd Oval in Melbourne on Tuesday with the average age of both teams above 80.

The celebration of veterans cricket will see a Jack Blackham XI take on the Billy Murdoch XI, the teams named in honour of the two Victorians and future Australian captains who played in the Test series against England in 1877.

"I feel really chuffed and privileged to be involved," Mr Hind said.

"Let's face it, to be able to go and play a game of cricket when you're almost 80 is a blessing.

"I've always loved the feeling of hitting the ball and bowling the ball. I feel fit enough and I feel the need, at my age, to be up and doing something - staying vertical as my GP would say.

"I like it because it's a team game, I like the pace of cricket and because we're all getting old together, there's enough physical attributes that we can all do.

"We don't flit around the field very gracefully, there's a lot of stomping on the ball, but at the end, you're having a beer with 26 blokes and talking rubbish about what you just did and who didn't do what."

Tuesday's game is 30 overs per side, with each batter allowed to face a maximum of 25 balls or score 25 runs before retiring.

Players can bowl up to five overs each.

Mr Hind will take his place on the Billy Murdoch XI having been selected in recognition of his contribution to Victorian veterans cricket.

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"I came up to Wodonga in 1987 to take over as co-ordinator of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus," he explained.

"I hadn't played cricket for years, since the mid-seventies, but when I heard the Victorian veterans ran over-60s cricket, I joined up and have enjoyed that.

"They put out a notice for this game, for all the 80-year-olds, and they said they would take some people who were close to being 80.

"I turn 79 in a couple of weeks and I said to my grandkids 'wouldn't it be a shame if Grandpa missed out on getting a game at this age because he's too young?'

"Fortunately, I made the cut, which is great."

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