Melbourne, Feb 24 : At the age of 48, former Aussie opener David Boon was as solid in his defence as he ever was, and made South African net bowlers sweat it out in Potchefstroom on the third day of Australia's tour game against Proteas XI.

Boon is in South Africa as a selector for the Australian team, but during a break in play he decided to borrow a pair of pads and a bat and give the local net bowlers a workout.

He armed himself with Brad Haddin's bat, but did not bother with a helmet or introductions, The Courier Mail reported.

One of the Porteas bowlers came across and asked who he was. On being informed he yelled to his mates: "It is him, it's Boony."

At first, the young South African bowlers had taken it easy on the older man, but when they knew it was the former Test champion they threw everything they had at him, but could make no impression.

Boon was as solid in defence as he ever was. "How old is he?" one bowler asked.

Boon is 48 and retired from Test cricket in January 1996. He was twice the age of all the local bowlers, but it didn't change much.

The former opener still cocks the front elbow, rehearsing his shots, and still places his solid frame squarely behind the ball.

He didn't time them all perfectly but the cover drive was looking pretty sweet. The general consensus was that Boon was as good as any of the provincial batsmen the net bowlers competed against. (ANI)