The Ashes might not get underway until Wednesday but England have already struck the first blow after Hertfordshire Over-60s defeated their Australian counterparts by six wickets at Hertford last Wednesday.

Backed by a crowd of 300, Hertfordshire overcame Australia in convincing fashion to secure a historic win over the tourists.

Australia won the toss and elected to make first use of a good wicket. However, they found runs hard to come by and with wickets falling just as a partnerships appeared to be building, they were unpicked.

Murray Harrison retired on 51, whilst Ian Petherick posted 43 and Patrick Logue put on 41. Keith Martin (two for 34) and Tariq Hassan (two for 36) were the pick of the Herts bowlers and helped restrict the Aussies to 211 for six.

Herts made a poor start and lost their first two wickets having put just 14 runs on the board. But then skipper Eric Riddle (Hertford) was joined by Duncan Elder (Letchworth) at the crease and the pair managed 100 runs before retiring on 50 apiece, as per the rules.

Two more wickets fell in quick succession before Keith Martin (51) and Hassan (29) combined to add a further 80 runs to Hertfordshire’s total. On the brink of victory with ten balls remaining, Graham Fisher hit the winning run to seal a six-wicket victory.