‘Silver Fox’ retires

Press, 26 November 1986, Page 76

‘Silver Fox’ retires

Bruce Irving, otherwise known as the “Silver Fox,” has retired from senior cricket at the age of 54 after a remarkable career.

Irving, who was playing his thirty-second season of senior cricket, all for the Lancaster Park club, established records which are unlikely to ever be broken.

The off-spin bowler has made the most appearances, 327, of any player in the history of Christchurch cricket and his 175 senior catches is also a record.

Since he started playing cricket for Lancaster Park in the 1955-56 season Irving has taken an amazing 1160 wickets, capturing five victims in an innings on 64 occasions and 10 in a match 11 times.

Irving confirmed last evening that he had re-

tired from senior cricket after bowling nearly 50,000 deliveries — 49,298 to be precise. “My leg’s packed up on me.” This season, he said, it was taking him a week to recover after every Saturday and he was starting to become a real liability in the field. “Where there should be only one they’re calling for three,” he joked.

For someone who had prided himself on keeping fit it came as “a bit of a blow” that he could no longer chase the ball at 100 miles per hour. Irving said that making the break had been a tough decision. "But the die is cast.” He modestly referred to his accomplishments by saying it was a matter of sticking around long enough. “If you get enough bowling you must get wickets they say.”

Irving plans to have a lay-off for a month to rest his legs and may contemplate cricket in the president’s grade after that. But he said that Lancaster Park had three teams in that grade and they were "all pretty full.” Meanwhile he intends to be a loyal supporter of his old team.