Fortunately
throughout my life I have never been someone who has given much
thought to their age. Why should I? There is nothing I can do about
it. There may have been times when I had wished I had been a little
bit older, so that I may have enjoyed more of the 60s music scene or
younger so that I could still be playing as much sport as I used to
do, but overall I am pretty satisfied with the hand that I have been
dealt.
That
said, a friend and I were recently debating the favourite county
cricket matches which we had seen in our teens. I casually mentioned
how I was looking forward to spending the odd day or two reliving
those times slumped in a deckchair, with thermos and sarnies watching
the county games in my retirement. Not only did it dawn on me that
retirement is now considerably closer than I had realised but the way
the game is going there may very well be no proper county cricket
played by the time I do pack up the day job. From delight to despair
in a matter of seconds.
It
is understandable that the bean counters should want to maximise the
revenue from the 20-20 game but the 5 day test match is to my mind
the blue riband of cricket and the only way players can learn how to
play that type of game is through playing the 3 day game.
I
still enjoy the one day game and I can appreciate the 20-20 version
as a spectacle but I don't like the pyjamas and razzamattaz that goes
with it. Each of the versions of the game has their own set of
technical demands and strategies and not every player is capable of
adapting their game to suit each discipline. It is a bit like
expecting a derby runner to win the Grand National or Usain Bolt to
be equally as adept at running the marathon.
In
my club cricketing days we used to put a team into the evening
knockout tournament which was a 20 over cup competition for clubs in
the area. As both player and spectator it was always enjoyable to be
play on a beautiful ground on a warm July evening while watching the
sunset. Availability apart no club could ever play their full 1st
XI and in our case there were at least 2 players who were deemed
ineligible for selection on grounds that the game would be over
before they had finished kitting themselves up with their usual array
of liniments, bandages and additional padding.
This
conversation has played on my mind for several days now and though it
has been great to rekindle the memories of watching my boyhood heroes
there is a nagging doubt in my mind that there will be a yawning gap
in my retirement if I can't perambulate the boundary and sit in the
sun listening to the thud of ball on willow.
