Sally Barton (born 23 May 1957) is an English-born

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who plays as a

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

for the Gibraltar women's national cricket team. She holds the world record for being the oldest person to play international cricket.

Biography

Born in London and raised in

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

, Barton credits her parents - from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

- and her twin brother for fostering an early interest in cricket. While at school she represented Essex in junior cricket and Kent Invicta ladies. She also played as wicket-keeper for the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

men's 3rd XI during her student days. Barton's cricketing exploits were put on hold when she spent 10 years working as a

Christian missionary A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...

in the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

in the 1990s before returning to England. While teaching at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, she resumed playing cricket, turning out for the Heronettes in

Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

. Barton moved to Gibraltar in 2020 after her husband, Ian Tarrant, an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest, was appointed

Dean of Gibraltar The Dean of Gibraltar is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese in Europe and ...

and she began playing regularly in the men's domestic league on the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

. Having fulfilled the eligibility criteria to represent Gibraltar, she participated in a T10 series taking two catches. On 21 April 2024, Barton became the oldest international cricketer - male or female - when she made her WT20I debut for

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

at the age of 66 years and 334 days, eclipsing the previous record held by Portugal's Akbar Saiyad who was aged 66 years and 12 days when he played a T20 against Finland in 2012. She also surpassed the all-time record for the oldest WT20I debutant, set by

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

player Philippa Stahelin, who made her first appearance against

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

in 2019 when she was 58 years and 33 days old. In the record-breaking game, Barton played as wicket-keeper but was not involved in any dismissals, nor did she bat, as her team won the second of a three-match series at

Europa Sports Park Europa Sports Park is a multi-purpose stadium at Europa Point, Gibraltar. In UEFA matches, the stadium is referred to as Europa Point Stadium. The facility is home to the Gibraltar national rugby union team, as well as other sports such as cric ...

in Gibraltar by 128 runs. Having passed her 67th birthday a few weeks earlier, Barton was selected in the 12-player Gibraltar squad for the Women's Central Europe Cup to be held in the Czech Republic from 14 to 16 June 2024. She played in all four of her side's matches at the

Vinoř Cricket Ground The Vinoř Cricket Ground () is a cricket ground in Vinoř, Prague, the first cricket ground in the Czech Republic. The ground opened in 2012, with a second pitch being added in 2014 due to funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

as Gibraltar won the event which also featured the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Barton did not bat or take a catch or stumping but was involved in effecting a run-out in the final game against the Czechs. Barton further extended her record when she was chosen to play in the first of a two-match home series against Jersey on 15 December 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Sally 1957 births Living people Alumni of the University of Nottingham English women cricketers Gibraltarian women cricketers