Worlington's Sean Cooper plays his part in England Over-50s International Masters Cricket World Cup success and Ashes victory in South Africa

It was not the way he would have dreamt a first ever appearance at Newlands Stadium going, but Sean Cooper will forever treasure his memories of an IMC Over-50s World Cup and Ashes winning trip.

The Worlington CC player ended as England’s second highest wicket-taker in the 14-team World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, despite having to sit out both the semi-final and grand final with a foot injury.

But Cooper, who managed 29 wickets at a rate of 21.62 runs in his five Pool B games of six, still managed to play his part in his side’s 67-run victory against hosts South Africa in the iconic Test venue which sits at the foot of Table Mountain.

The owner of Functional Fitness, based from Mildenhall Hub, who had put together a workout plan together for the England side three months prior to the tournament, explained: “I picked up a heel injury, I’ve got plantar fasciitis.

“It’s something I’ve had before and been able to manage but in one of the games it kicked off really badly so I said I wouldn’t be 100 per cent fit and made myself unavailable for (knockout) selection.

“There was the plus that the performance of one of the debutants in the squad, Richard Cooper, one of the other opening bowlers, was such that on fairness he would have probably pushed me out anyway which I was cool with.

“Everybody played their part in reaching where we got and what we achieved as a group of 18 players which was absolutely fantastic.

“So it was disappointing I couldn’t play in the final but I had an active part in what I was doing in it with all the warm-up and stuff I do.

“I then had to run out the drinks which I didn’t mind because it’s important the rest of my team-mates got us to where we all wanted to be so that was good.”

After being inserted into bat after losing the toss, Giles Ecclestone’s 120 runs off 103 balls at the top of the innings helped put England in a dominant position as they set an imposing total of 267-8 from the weather-reduced 40-over-a-side final.

It proved too much for the hosts, cheered on by the crowd boosted by free entry, as they ran out of balls at 202-8.

Unrelated namesake Richard Cooper ended with 3-39 while Stephen Foster was the side’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament by some way with 40 at a rate of 10.33.

Reflecting on the experience, having played in matches against India, Namibia, Pakistan, UAE and Wales, Sean Cooper said of his experience: “It was absolutely unbelievable. Like we’ve all been discussing, it doesn’t matter if you’re an ex-professional, international, which we’ve had the pleasure of playing against, or our guys that have played first-class cricket, every single one of them wouldn’t change what they’ve just experienced for anything.”

Cooper, who turned 56 mid-way through the tournament in March, then decided to dose up on painkillers and try cushion insoles to be able to play in two matches over the next two days to decide the little matter of the Ashes with Australia.

It was another memorable experience as England comfortably won both, first at Pinelands and then back to Western Province at the ground in the shadows of Newlands, to retain the trophy.

“I got a couple of wickets in the second game and it was good,” he said.

“I bowled six (overs) on the first day and we had batted and were defending 2234 in 45 overs on the first game which we did quite comfortably, we bowled them out for about 190.

“On day two of the Ashes, myself and the other opener had them 26-6 which was a phenomenal start but they then recovered to get 128 and we then knocked them off for the loss of one so it was quite comprehensive wins really.”

It left Cooper as a two-time Ashes winner, having won the inaugural event in 2017 before losing a year later, though it was his first Over-50s World Cup winner medal that was the most special.

He also hopes to get a shot at retaining it in Sri Lanka in 2025.