A CRICKETING copper has upped stumps and travelled half-way round the world for some top class competition.

Detective Inspector Neil Fox, from Cleveland Police, was so determined to make his mark in an international tournament in Australia that he joined forces with colleagues from Worcester to get a game.

The 48-year-old batsman had tried but failed to recruit a team from the North-East when police world-wide were invited to the third International Police Cricket Festival being staged in Perth.

Det Insp Fox played in six games and boasted a highest score of 53 not out, with his team coming seventh.

He said: "Every police force in the world was invited to put a team in, but we just couldn't get one from Cleveland or Durham.

The next tournament is being staged in two years' time, on Antigua or in South Africa, and Det Insp Fox hopes to captain a Cleveland team in that competition.