On Sunday, he will come out of retirement and don the whites once more as skipper of a Morpeth XI in an exhibition match against an Eastern Suburbs XI. The one-off invitational encounter has been organised as part of Easts’ 125 year celebrations and marks 125 years to the day since the club’s inaugural match.

The original match was played between Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club and Morpeth Cricket Club at East Maitland Park on October 25, 1884.

This Sunday invitational teams representing those same two clubs will look to relive that encounter and, the

former Tenambit Morpeth first grader and Maitland premiership winner, said he was honoured to be asked to captain the Morpeth XI on such an historic occasion.

“It is a bit of a privilege to do that (skipper),” Fort said.

“It brings back some of the tradition in the game and lets people know about the history of the club and the game in the area, which is long-standing.”

Cricket has been played in the Maitland area since the 1840s and the Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club, also known as the Griffins, was formed in 1884 while the Maitland and District Cricket Association was officially formed in 1894.

Since then neighbouring clubs Easts and Morpeth, now known as Tenambit Morpeth, have been involved in many on-field battles.

Fort, who played against Easts during his time at the Bulls, which included a premiership in 1982-1983, said the rivalry had been strong, but so was the respect.

“There was a healthy respect for both clubs from my perspective,” Fort said.

Those feelings will be rekindled this weekend when Fort leads the Morpeth XI, which features representatives from each of the eight district clubs including Tenambit Morpeth skipper Aaron Wolinski, Northern Suburbs captain and two-time district player of the year Brad Bannister and former City United