The End of a Summer to Remember

I’ve had a number of issues with mental health over the years and the one thing that has been hugely beneficial in helping me through the bad times has been cricket.  Putting a day aside to relax in the sunshine, watching a sport I love amongst people with a similar passion for the game.  Becoming engrossed in the on-field battles between bat and ball and forgetting my troubles until close of play.

My first summer as an avid, don't want to miss a game, cricket fan has now come to an end.  With the superb New Zealand series, the much improved coverage of the Women’s game over all media formats and with the England men regaining the Ashes, it’s certainly been a summer to remember.

Joe Root has shone throughout, continually maturing and looking more and more like a once in a generation player.  The same could be said for Ben Stokes, who has the makings of a Beefy or a Freddie.  Anderson and Broad have continued to look good and Wood is a excellent prospect, assuming he can keep his pace up around the 90s.

Surrey themselves have had an incredible season, getting to the final of the One Day Cup and gaining promotion to the first division by winning the second division championship, sealing it on the last final day of the summer.  I’d have to say that my stand out players for Surrey this season have been the Curran brothers, Batty, Sangakkara and Ansari.  Pietersen deserves a mention too, if only for that memorable innings against Leicestershire.  Worth the Surrey membership fee alone, it ultimately didn’t end with an England call up.

Cricket of course carries on throughout the off-season, going on tour from now until the new year.  First, England play 3 tests in the UAE vs Pakistan (starting on Tuesday) before moving on to South Africa for a 4 test series, with a number of ODI/T20 games thrown in for good measure.  All of these games will be on Sky and i’ll do what I can to watch as much of the action as possible, despite the time differences and work commitments.

It’s my plan next summer to visit a number of the county grounds, as part of my mission detailed in a previous blog post to eventually visit every county ground in the country.  It’s an exciting prospect for me and one that I hope will serve as an incentive to be sensible in the coming months and to save up for the various trips I plan on undertaking next year.

Thanks for a great summer, cricket.  You have been good to me!