Yet Britt’s glittering record as a stalwart of the Victorian Bowling Club was almost brought to a sudden end shortly before the start of this pennant season when he suffered a nasty fall that resulted in a broken neck.

Britt was performing a routine task when he tripped and smashed his head into a brick wall, knocking himself unconscious and in the process causing what is colloquially known as a hangman’s fracture in one of the vertebrae in his neck.

He spent 14 weeks in a neck brace, but returned this season as though nothing had happened and as though he hadn’t missed a single training session.

“I could have quite easily died but instead I was just knocked out, so I was quite lucky in the end,” Britt said of the fall.

“I got the brace off just before our season started and didn’t really give it much thought, but I was still a little bit tentative going down for those first few bowls.”

Britt has since been a solid and dependable part of Victoria’s reigning grand finalist premier division squad, but laments the struggles that the club has had this season.

Tomorrow he will line up against Highton bowling in the third position as Victoria aims to keep its top four hopes alive.

michael.pollock@fairfaxmedia.com.au