WORCESTERSHIRE were represented by the youngest and oldest cricketers during a special day as part of the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s 50th anniversary at the Cheltenham Festival.

PCA chairman and County opener Daryl Mitchell was the youngest at 33.

Former wicketkeeper Roy Booth, still a regular visitor to New Road after playing for the County from 1956 until 1968, was the oldest at 90.

This year’s event reunited ex-Worcestershire paceman Fred Rumsey, Mike Smedley, Eric Russell and Don Shepherd who are four of the founding fathers of the players’ union.

They attended the inaugural meeting in 1967 along with Harold Goldblatt, an accountant who played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the establishment of what was initially called the Cricketers’ Association.

“The organisation has done everything I hoped it would do and more. It’s now very polished,” Rumsey, 81, said.

“There are still things it can do but it is covering all the fears I had as a young man when I decided to form the association.

“I am proud of the way players’ welfare is now looked after. I am happy they have cleared the backlog of special registrations.

“The money is better, they negotiate contracts better and the PCA Benevolent Fund covers them for sickness and injury and after they have finished playing any problems they encounter.”

Rumsey first floated the idea of a players’ union in 1966 when he circulated to the 17 first-class counties.

Despite opposition from the cricketing establishment, then the MCC, he gained sufficient support to convene the inaugural meeting in the Daily Express offices in London’s Fleet Street after the 1967 season.

“The fortunate thing in my situation was I didn’t care. If they wanted to attack me they could. I was prepared to take them on,” Rumsey said.

“I would have been prepared to go the media and the law courts to fight them. I didn’t give a damn about them.

“It wasn’t so much bravery than not caring less. I didn’t like their views on how players should fall into their way of life so I was quite happy to take them on.

“If you are going to be involved in what is nothing less than a union you are sticking your neck out with your employers.

"Your employers don’t like having to deal with people who say 'We don’t like how you are doing things, we’d like to do it this way because it suits the players'.”

Rumsey, who was at the County from 1960 until 1962, and Russell were among 20 former Test players at Cheltenham which was also attended by sponsors and PCA staff.

Between them the former players boasted 17,909 first-class appearances, 603,355 runs and 23,457 wickets.