WHEN Terry “Tex” Psarakis – all 60 years and “bone-on-bone” knee injury of him – bowled Old Boys No. 3 Abel Carney with a self-described left-arm “ordinary” delivery while playing for South Tamworth at Riverside 2 on Saturday, he and his much younger teammates exploded with joie de vivre, a cheerful enjoyment of life.

In that moment, the ailments that had kept Psarakis in retirement the past four years were seemingly subdued by rapture, as poor Abel Carney – one of Tamworth’s best batsmen – departed, having paid the price for rocking back and trying to blast the old timer back to 1975, the year he joined Souths after five top-grade seasons with Police Boys (now Old Boys).

He was lured out of retirement because he said Souths were “totally” short of numbers for the start of the two-day clash. It is his first top-grade match in nine seasons, after notching “close to 40 seasons” in the premier grade.

What’s this Faces of Tamworth all about?

Put simply, what transpired under a baby blue sky on a glorious spring afternoon was wonderful, and one of the purest examples of the beauty of sport.

South Tamworth captain Mitch Smith recognised that. That’s why, when the players were leaving the field, he arranged for a photo to be taken of the team.

Psarakis – a much-respected Tamworth identity and the chairman of the Central Northern Cricket Zone – said he was “very happy”.

“They’re a great mob of boys, so I really enjoy it,” he said. “They’ll look after me. I’ll have a beer with them tonight. It will be great."

Bowling what he joked were “Greek” orthodox nudies, he finished the day with 1-3. His third and final over was a maiden. “There wasn’t much bounce in the wicket, which suited me,” he said, adding: “No one wants to get out to Psarakis. They’ll live with it the rest of their lives.”