Welcome To The Rooting Around For Hope Cricket Blog!

I have loved cricket for 30 years, even though, historically I have been crap at it.

Favourite moments of (my own) cricket career - in order include:


  • Spending all afternoon of one day of Game 6 of Horris Hill in 1989 blocking everything and anything that came to me with my 'Slazenger V Carribean', ending up with 11 not out, and pissing out of just about everybody.
  • Managing 2 in a season. That's right.....TWO. And that was off a leg glance. I celebrated like I'd just scored a century off West Indian fast-bowling.
  • Getting a chap called Reda Said, who the day before had scored 83 in a stunning effort the first XI, caught behind off his glove while he was trying to smash my spin to Kingdom Come. To be fair, he would have succeeded, but the ball bounced a bit. 
  • Spending most weekends for cricket teams at Horris Hill (prep school) and St Edward's School, Oxford, with a scorebook and scoring the game. And in the latter days, getting paid in cigarettes, booze after the game had finished, and cigarette-smoking immunity which was immensely important during that age. 
I love cricket because it's a game I - a person with Attention Deficit Disorder can concentrate on. A game which relentless pushes and pulls you, and both sides get frustrated (some for longer periods than others). 

I love cricket because there's nothing like coming to Lord's, and letting yourself be draped by the sun. Last season I saw England play a Test Match there, and saw the opening and closing days of the County Championship. One was distinctly warmer than the other!

I love cricket because the fans tend to behave themselves, and people are generally pretty nice to each other. There don't tend to be riots at 20/20 games. 

I love cricket because there's always something going on. 

Why did I call this "Rooting Around For Hope?". Basically, the world 'rooting' when you speak to Australians is a slang term for [add bad four letter word here]. With Brits, 'rooting' is 'hunting around', and also, it's a way of playing with the name of England Captain Joe Root and trying to Pun It. 

And I hope, with this new blog, I will provide some ideas and thoughts in the cricketing world that you might enjoy. 


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