Ralph Smithson is about to celebrate his 90th birthday but that hasn't stopped him from going in to bat for his beloved Ditchling Cricket Club.
Ralph, long-time captain of the club, has now been playing cricket for nine decades. He arrived in Sussex with his family in 1929 when he was 19 years old. According to Ralph's son, Jamie, before the Smithsons could unpack their luggage, they were waylaid by Ditchling's eccentric cricket captain Bill Kerring.
"Bill was sitting by the removal van and he just asked if any of them could play cricket because they were one short for the next day.
"My father went out to play the next day and he has been hooked on cricket ever since."
A love for cricket runs in the Smithson family, who now live in Clayton.
Ralph, who lives with Coral, his wife of 50 years, gets his love of the sport from his Yorkshire roots. Jamie, 50, has also been captain of Ditchling cricket team - and Jamie's 18-year-old daughter Pru played for Sussex.
Ralph was a director at EG Brown, building merchants in Brighton, before he retired.
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