Born in London and raised in
Ilford, Barton credits her parents - from
Yorkshire and
Lancashire - and her twin brother for fostering an early interest in cricket. While at school she represented Essex in junior cricket and Kent Invicta ladies. She also played as wicket-keeper for the
University of Nottingham men's 3rd XI during her student days. Barton's cricketing exploits were put on hold when she spent 10 years working as a
Christian missionary in the
Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s before returning to England. While teaching at the
London School of Economics, she resumed playing cricket, turning out for the Heronettes in
Wanstead. On 21 April 2024, Barton became the oldest international cricketer - male or female - when she made her WT20I debut for
Gibraltar against
Estonia at the age of 66 years and 334 days, eclipsing the previous record held by Portugal's Akbar Saiyad who was aged 66 years and 12 days when he played a T20 against Finland in 2012. In the record-breaking game, Barton played as wicket-keeper but was not involved in any dismissals, nor did she bat, as her team won the second of a three-match series at
Europa Sports Park in Gibraltar by 128 runs. Having passed her 67th birthday a few weeks earlier, Barton was selected in the 12-player Gibraltar squad for the Women's Central Europe Cup to be held in the Czech Republic from 14 to 16 June 2024. She played in all four of her side's matches at the
Vinoř Cricket Ground in
Prague as Gibraltar won the event which also featured the
Czech Republic and
Croatia. Barton did not bat or take a catch or stumping but was involved in effecting a run-out in the final game against the Czechs. Barton further extended her record when she played in the Gibraltar women's tour against Estonia in August 2025. She finally got to bat scoring four runs and took a catch, made a stumping and assisted in a run out. ==References==