Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2013

17 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society stamina. Good footwear is required as the water comes up though the wooden floor and doors slam open and shut. Spiders share the facility which is fine chomping on dead flies which I’m happy to leave in their hundreds on the front desk. Although I did clear them out when covering the Women’s one day internationals against India in June. I was joined for that by players Isa Guha and Ebony Rainford-Brent, pictured above. I confessed later that I had cleaned up just because they were coming and I never did it for the blokes. I feared they might think me chauvinistic but instead they said it was chivalrous. I felt a warm glow as if the world was indeed a fine place. Sadly they plan to pull the sheds down and build a new pavilion with broadcast rooms and press box. Shame – often a bit of character is uncomfortable and fun. With an extended service on BBC Five Live Sports extra this year I got to meet a few new faces and talk to some less well know guests. Examples include the Tourist Information office at the Devon resort of Budleigh Salterton where Don Bradman convalesced and Vernon Philander played his cricket. Tom Sharp the captain of Cornwall who won their first ever Minor Counties Championship and how wonderful to talk to Enid Bakewell as she was flying out to be inducted to the ICC hall of fame. Seventy two years of age she was opening the bowling for her second eleven club in Surrey. So she says and who am I not to believe her. As for Don Williams the long and often trying car trips were made bearable by the big man singing a few tunes from his album `And so it goes’ which sums up my attitude to the game these days. No matter what the authorities do the players will always entertain us and that matters more than anything. As for journey’s. I leave you by suggesting to celebrities and professional sportsmen and women who tell us they are entering a ‘Journey’. They should first try commuting between Leeds and Manchester Monday to Friday. That is a ‘journey’. Life on the M60 and M62 should tell them all they need to know about themselves. Kevin Howells, BBC