Alex Steele, an 83-year-old former cricketer, has caught the attention of cricket fans after a video of him keeping wickets in a local match went viral. Steele, who played domestic cricket for Scotland FC, was seen wearing an oxygen cylinder on his back while keeping wickets. The video, originally from 2023, was shared by England’s Barmy Army on X, where it quickly went viral.
In the video, Steele, a former professional wicketkeeper, stood up to the medium pacers with impressive reflexes and movement behind the stumps. Despite his age and the oxygen support, he reacted quickly when a ball went down the leg side. He moved to his left and took a clean catch.
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Steele’s decision to keep wickets at the age of 83, despite suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a terminal respiratory disease, was inspiring. According to the media reports, he has been battling the condition since 2020, but his passion for the sport remained strong. Steele played his first domestic match in 1967, and his career spanned 13 years, ending in 1980. Throughout his professional career, he played 14 matches, scored 621 runs, and claimed 11 catches with a couple of stumpings.
