Column 18 - Going up?

Printed in The Cricket Paper, issue 67 280813

Column 17 - What is the point?

Printed in The Cricket Paper, issue 66 210813

When I saw this bit of research in the papers, clearly it was a bit of a gift. I sat on it for a bit - it's not time sensitive, I'll bank it. Then Soph had one of her ‘what is the point’ rants, and I thought, right. I’ve got facts here. I’ll show her. Of course when I did show her she said ‘Yes very good.’ And continued on her way. So it could be successfully argued that it failed to convince the sceptic. If I'm honest I didn’t really think it would. But I still think the point stands.

Column 16 - Ashes hype

Printed in The Cricket Paper, issue 65 140813

Having last week got very wrapped up in the village game, this week playing makes no appearance at all, the first time a column makes no mention of my cricket and concentrates solely on being a fan.

Column 15 - Thrashing or nailbiter?

Printed in The Cricket Paper, issue 64 070813

This was an interesting one, as I had to file (submit, hand in; think homework) at lunch on the fifth day of the third Test at Old Trafford, when Australia were on top with England yet again 30-3, so all three results were still possible, and at that time it wasn’t raining. I had written different set-ups for win lose or draw, but in the end went for a general one, where the point stands whatever the result. Which is actually probably better.

When I started doing this column, the idea was to make it like the book but vaguely or sporadically topical. I always intended to use what happens in my cricket to draw parallels and distinctions with what’s happening in pro cricket, or just to highlight general cricketing truths that are true across the board. The only caveat the editors gave me was don’t do match reports. People in Sheffield and Somerset don’t care about the minutiae of Hampshire Regional Division Two West, unless it makes a wider point about the game in general. They were right, of course. This is the closest I’ve got to a match report. I think I got away with it. I won’t get this close again. But it was a hell of a game. The last paragraph ties it all up and allows the indulgence. Just. Close one.