Right now, things should be ramping up at our local cricket club. But, instead sore muscles that haven’t been used for months and gathering in the rooms to boast about how many wickets or runs we will get this year there is simply...silence.
We are all waiting to hear about when, or if, we will be able to play, and it feels like we are in limbo, like so much of what would be our normal lives in any other year. And sport is such a big part of that daily life here in Melbourne, a weekend where you can’t hear the sounds of cricket coming from nearby ovals seems odd, and the sound of choppers overhead at night seem a poor trade indeed.
Sanitised sport
It makes you wonder what cricket will look like when it does come back. We will be better off than some sports, the ones where contact is a key part of the game. It is possible to play a game of cricket without coming within a few metres of anyone for the whole day. But, there is more that will be lost than simply being allowed to spit on the ball—though it may mean sandpaper is even harder to get away with.
But, there are the countless little interactions that make a team sport, not just a sport for individuals, that will be list. The fist bump as batters pass each other on the pitch after a particularly fine shot, the running past a bowler and giving them a pat on the back...er..side between overs to say good job, the huddle after taking a wicket, the embrace upon a century or a great catch.
Beyond the Boundary
Even more than these micro expressions of camaraderie is the social aspect of the game, the feeling of being a member of something bigger. It’s hard to see the after game drinks at the club rooms being the same, but that is often then place you get to know you team mates, both the ones you play with, and the ones from the wider club.
It’s where you get to laugh about the ups and downs of the day just gone, boast and spin tall tales about the highlights, either rejoice in victory or complain in defeat. It’s there a club’s success can truly be measured—and I say this as someone whose fondest memories include seasons where winning a game of cricket seems a far off fantasy.
Simply a speed bump
But, cricket has survived greater challenges than a mere virus. It has come through World Wars, Depressions, schisms and revolts. When COVID-19 is simply another fading memory old people bore young people with cricket will still be here. IT is up to us to make sure our local clubs are, to show that they are about more than merely match day, and to keep supporting them as we get through this together.
David Goodwin is the former Editor of The Salvation Army’s magazine, War Cry. He is also a cricket tragic, and an unapologetic geek.
David Goodwin archive of articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/david-goodwin.html
October 2020 Phillip Hall Header Playing in the Bubble.jpeg