RANDOM JOTTINGS

A blog about music, sports, theatre and rants

Long time blogger just moved to wordpress. Love music, theatre, movies, sport (tennis and cricket) and cooking. Two great daughters, two great granddaughters.

Cricket lovely cricket

Read a quote recently, forgotten where, that people who love reading love cricket and vice versa. Well in my case this is correct.  I LOVE reading and I LOVE cricket. If you can understand the fielding positions and appreciate the difference between fine leg, silly mid on, third man and long leg, then you will have no trouble reading War and Peace.  I know this is true – my conversion to cricket and the reading of this might tome happened at the same time.

I have two daughters who both read and both love cricket so that is a joy to me as well.  Kathryn has tickets for the Sydney test and I am trying hard to batten down the Daughter Envy but not succeeding very well at the moment.

England-celebrate-the-wic-001

Am bog eyed this morning and yesterday also as I sat up till the early morning listening to Radio 5 with the live commentary.  Kept dozing off and then would be woken up by a yell from the commentators when a wicket fell (which did not happen during England's batting) or a groan of despair when another Australian bowler was tonked over the park (all the time).  Thank goodness that ITV4 coughed up the money for the highglights – the BBC said it was 'too expensive'.  Yeh, right. Cut back on the use of taxis by the Director General for a year and they would have the dosh easily. 

Ricky-Ponting-001

Papers full of joy this morning and the Aussie team are really getting it in the neck back home.  Ponting, their captain, was dignified and generous in his after match interview and I felt so sorry for him.   However, having watched so many Brit sportsmen trying to make the most out of a bad situation, I don't wish to grind his nose in the dust…much

Not sure if the Aussies can come back – their team is pretty poor and they lack Shane Warne who could wipe us out single handed, or Glen McGrath et al, but I never underestimate their fighting spirit and sheer bloody mindedness and will not write them off yet.

But oh wonderful to wake up this morning and know that we have won the this Test.   I let out such a yell when the final wicket went down that I am sure my neighbours would have wondered what I was up to.

Who said cricket was boring?  WHO?

 

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9 responses to “Cricket lovely cricket”

  1. R.A.D. Stainforth Avatar
    R.A.D. Stainforth

    The last time England brought the Ashes home from Australia was before their youngest player was born.

    Reply
  2. Diney Avatar
    Diney

    I’m like you Elaine, an avid reader and an avid cricket fan. When I was a child my father used to take my brother and me to Lords on a Saturday afternoon…in the days when you could just roll up and pay at the door. Ever since I have followed England’s fortunes in the test world and on occasion have been lucky enough to be in the right placce at the right time when they’ve been playing abroad. Love it when they beat the Aussies, it cools the ‘Pom bashing’ for a while…and yes I woke up to the news of our win from a husband who’d switched on the TV during the night!

    Reply
  3. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    I’m definitely a reader and a cricket lover but as an Aussie I’m probably not feeling quite so much joy today!! We got whipped!

    Reply
  4. Susan in TX Avatar
    Susan in TX

    Can’t say I’ve ever seen a cricket match, but I would probably convert fairly easily as I am an American football fanatic. ;)

    Reply
  5. Sandy G Avatar
    Sandy G

    If my husband and I combine, we’ll make one well-rounded person – I love reading but am indifferent to cricket, he loves cricket (and, like you, sat up till God-knows-when to listen right up to the last ball) but the only books he’ll read are technical manuals!

    Reply
  6. Liz F Avatar
    Liz F

    You are a kindred spirit of my late mum who was a passionate cricket fan all her life having spent most of her childhood and teenage years at Headingly (for the rugby league in winter and cricket in summer) and a very keen reader, not mention collector of books.
    She passed the reading bug but not the cricket one to me I’m afraid as the only cricket match I ever attended was when the Sussex team including Imran Khan played Northampton at the cricket ground in Luton and I’m afraid I wasn’t concentrating on the cricket!
    I’m still pleased about the Test result though – long may it continue!

    Reply
  7. Virginia Avatar
    Virginia

    I think readers and writers – certainly writers – have the same affinity for baseball. I don’t follow baseball with the same avidity with which you follow cricket, but I do love reading about it – Breslin, Lardner, Thurber, Halberstam, et al.

    Reply
  8. Margaret Powling Avatar
    Margaret Powling

    Ooh, joy, oh, bliss … lovely to see such a sad Ricky Ponting … oh, sorry, Ricky, didn’t know you were listening …

    Reply
  9. Joolsfw Avatar
    Joolsfw

    I too love cricket, Elaine. And my goodness it is NEVER boring(well, only sometimes…:)I was brought up, from the age of three to sit quietly at Test matches at Edgbaston in the company of my father and uncles. I read. What a good child I was!But I was too young to understand any of it. Then while was at Law College I began to listen to TMS while studying,( with Brain Johnson in charge )and I became hooked.The test series against Australia of 1981 was the first test series I sat through at various grounds and while listening on the radio and throughly understood and enjoyed (and what a series that was!) I am very sad that the BBC TV has decided against cricket. I can’t understand their attitude at all. Wonderful feeling to wake up this morning and be told by my husband(who needs less sleep than I) of the result. The crowd noise at test matches now makes me sad, its not the same as it was.But I still think a day at a test match in the company of like minded souls and a good picnic hamper is a great day out.

    Reply

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