Tony Newcombe is writing a book about Andoversford Cricket Club.

And the 76-year-old should have plenty of content because the club are celebrating their 125^th anniversary this year.

“Hopefully, it will be published in April or May,” said Newcombe, who first played for the club more than 60 years ago.

Newcombe was born and raised in Andoversford and the cricket club, which runs two Saturday teams, a Sunday side, a midweek team and three age-group teams, means a lot to him.

He is a former captain and also served as club secretary, treasurer and fixtures secretary, and is still on the club’s committee today.

The highlight of the club’s 125^th anniversary celebrations is a game against Gloucestershire’s Over-50s/60s/70s on Sunday 12^th July, a game which is sure to spark plenty of interest.

Newcombe, a former Cheltenham Grammar School pupil and retired civil servant, first played for the club as a 13-year-old.

“In those days we only had one team,” he said. “I started off as a batsman and wicketkeeper but I gave up wicketkeeping when I was quite young and became an off-spinner.

“I had a long career, so I did pretty much everything.”

He stopped playing in his 60s and started writing his book about the club before Covid.

“I’ve got a deadline now because it’s our 125^th anniversary,” he said. “I think it will be titled 125 Not Out. It will be a 60 to 70-page paperback.”

Newcombe’s dad Jack played for the club and his son Paul also played a handful of games, but while the club have a proud history they also have plenty of reason to look to the future with confidence.

The club, who run the ECB All Stars programme for five to eight-year-olds, will go into the new campaign on the back of winning three trophies in 2025.

Two of those successes came in the Gloucestershire Cricket League with the 1^st XI winning Division 9B and the 2^nd XI winning Division 9C.

Their midweek team also won the Cotswold District Cricket Association’s T20 Cup, beating Poulton by eight wickets in the final at Stowell Park.

The short format of the game has become increasingly popular in recent years and Newcombe, who enjoyed plenty of success as an off-spinner in later years, admits his style of batting would not have been suited to T20.

“I was more Boycott than Botham,” he said. “If you wanted a quick 20, that was not me!”