What Cricket Still Means to Me
This year has been a strange one for me. After 25 years away from the game, this forgotten 1990s cricketer decided to make a comeback. Which meant I had to go out and replace everything! Whites, pads, bat, gloves - everything I’d once owned and more. I was obviously still expecting to pay 1990s prices. So let’s just say, when I got to the till at Lorimers, I realised that cricket is a sport that teaches you resilience before you even step onto the field!
What brought me back wasn’t just the nostalgia. This season, for the first time, I’ve had the incredible experience of playing in the same team as my daughter. Sharing the highs and lows with her has been amazing. Talking cricket with her, helping her understand the game more and enjoying those conversations off the field has been a huge part of why I’m playing again. It’s not just about the game for me, it’s about the bond we’ve built, the laughs we’ve shared, and the stories we carry through it.
And in coming back, I’ve been asking myself a simple question: what does cricket mean to me? And after being away for so long, would it still mean the same as it did as a teenager all those years ago? Over the season, as I’ve reflected and made notes on my experiences, I’ve realised that these questions aren’t just personal, they resonate with everyone who’s played, supported, or simply spent a few hours out there watching us.
💬 Where Everyone Knows Your Name
As I’ve thought about and reflected on all of this over the course of the season, one thing has become really clear: cricket has never been just about runs, catches or wickets. It’s the people who make it what it is. The friendships, the connections, and the respect. Walking into the ground and hearing people call your name. That instant sense of belonging. A place where you’re not just another face, but part of a community. It gives you confidence, lifts your self-esteem and it feels like home the moment you step through the gates. That feeling came rushing back straight away.
👨👩👦 All Ages, One Team
Being part of a wider team is one of the things that makes cricket so unique. From the juniors right through to the first team, everyone is connected. Where else do you find 13-year-olds playing alongside 57-year-olds and both having a say in the result? Only in cricket can a teenager walk off the field proud to have shared a team with their mum, their dad, or even their grandad. That ‘old-school’ respect for your elders still shines brightly out in the middle, on any given Saturday in the summer. There’s a quiet understanding that whatever your age, when you step onto that field, you’re in it together. I’ve felt that every game, every week.
🤝 The Changing Room and the Cricket Family
There’s also something very special about being there when a junior plays their first senior game. The nerves, the excitement, and then the moment they realise the adults around them aren’t just teammates, they’re role models and people who’ve got their back no matter what.
And it’s not all seriousness. As we know, the changing room is full of jokes, laughter, and camaraderie. Those shared moments off the field and the strong relationships that are built around the ground are just as important as anything on the pitch — just as important, and just as real. Players, parents, club officials, even the bar staff. A cricket family is always bigger than just the eleven out on the field.
🩼 The Comeback Body
Of course, one thing I definitely hadn’t remembered about cricket was just how stiff you feel the next day. Back in my late teens and early twenties, I don’t think I even knew what stiffness was. But now at 48, I’m waking up and walking like an old man from Sunday morning to Wednesday every week during the season. Tracy will tell you that I’ve even developed my own sound effects of groans and creaks every time I bend down, stand up, or try to stretch. And then there was the hamstring tear! Not even Peter Lawler’s magical medical bag could fix that. No amount of Calpol or Haribo Twin Snakes was going to put that one right.
🎯 Confidence, Character and Respect
It’s also a joy to watch young players start to find their voice on the field. Joining in with a bit of friendly sledging, testing the batters' nerves and mindset to be able to perform under pressure out in the middle. But cricket also teaches them where the line is. How to be confident without being cocky, competitive without being disrespectful. It’s a lesson in character as much as it is in technique. Learning that mind games are part of the sport, but that respect for others is the most important thing.
🧠 Cricket Intelligence
The game also develops a ‘cricket intelligence’ which is very different from anything you learn in a traditional classroom. The skills and awareness it demands are unique. Understanding the game in all its nuance is a form of intelligence in its own right. And intelligence in other areas of life doesn’t automatically make you a good cricketer. It’s the strategy behind deciding whether to bat or bowl after winning the toss. Reading the weather, the pitch and the conditions. Understanding that the match can change completely from ball to ball. One moment you’re chasing a score, and the next you’re batting for a draw. It teaches you to think ahead, anticipate, and adapt. Those split-second decisions, made under pressure, are lessons that stay with you long after you leave the crease and can serve you well in life.
🌱 The Life Lessons of Cricket
Cricket is not just a sport; it’s a playbook of life skills. It teaches you patience when you’re not selected. Discipline to turn up on time and work hard without letting your teammates down. Humility when you win, and resilience when you lose. It gives you a team to fall back on but still expects you to stand alone when it matters. It shows you what pressure feels like, not in words, but when you’re facing the first ball, or you’re still at the crease in the last over. It also gives you time to reflect and be with your own thoughts as you wander the boundary, reflecting on the game, and reflecting on yourself.
🌤️ The Spectator’s Game
Cricket is also a great spectator sport too. A chance to pull up a camp chair or sit on a bench for a long summer’s afternoon. An opportunity for the world to slow down, to enjoy the sounds, the smells, and the familiar surroundings that a cricket club brings. The sound of the ball when it hits the bat, the odd ‘Howzat!’, and the clinking of pint glasses from the bar. It’s a chance to disconnect from the 9-to-5 of Monday to Friday and remember what makes you happy. Blue skies (sometimes), being outside, and an afternoon where the hours on the clock don’t dictate what you do. An afternoon that turns into evening without the worry of where you need to be or what you need to do.
❤️ More Than Just a Game
So I’ve remembered that cricket is more than just a game. And when someone says, ‘It’s a bit boring,’ we just smile…because for us, cricket is something they’ll never understand.
