Not the first day of the 2020 County Championship programme
Lords on not the first day of the 2020 Season, 12th April. Picture @Karl_McDermott
In a normal year, which this is not, I watch a fair bit of cricket both in the traditional and limited over formats. I tend to go to international games more than County fixtures.
Like my late father before I am a Middlesex supporter. Unlike some friends who have loyalty to Counties that retain a distinct identity I don’t feel much affinity with Middlesex as a County not least because it isn’t one now.
My identity is that of a Londoner (North) and within that to Borough and place (Haringey & Tottenham).
Still today being the first day of the County Championship I might have wandered along to Lords today to see Middlesex v Worcestershire. Very often its freezing sitting in the stands at Lords until June. Paradoxically today, when there was sadly no cricket, I suspect it would have been pleasant to watch the game before, obviously, nodding off after tea.
You don’t know what you’ve got until its gone and it has temporarily. Below is a piece on the meaning of the start of the season for a cricketer as opposed to a spectator
When a northerly wind blows in early April, I remember those pre-season practice matches, the coldness in the air exacerbated by the lack of nervous energy. The match’s real point is not the play itself but the unthinking camaraderie back in the dressing-room, finding refuge in the instant coffee and laughter. By the end of play, when the temperature has dropped to a few degrees, your face glows with rustic ruddy simplicity. But always, not far beneath the surface, the old questions: will this be my year, can I break through, sustain it, make the England team?
Ed Smith (now National Selector) Cricket & the Seasons. From the Nightwatchman
Some of us having been making up for lack of live cricket in our own ways. Check out my “All Time XIs” series: https://aspi.blog/?s=All+Time+XIs