Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2017

Cricket in Korea! I went to watch Sri Lanka’s women’s team play Hong Kong, and commentated on the final in which they met China. China playing cricket for goodness sake! You may, or may not, be surprised to know that in a Twenty 20 competition they amassed 28 runs - batting out the Overs ! They did lose, however. More recently I think it’s fair to say we have all been very pleasantly surprised by the gold medal haul of Team GB at the Rio Olympics. On the flight out to Brazil I found myself surrounded by the Rugby Sevens squad - men and women. What really struck me was the size of the party. Twelve players in each squad, so that’s 24 but in adddition we had a Chef de Mission, team manager, head of selection, coach, fitness guru, psychiatrist, psychologist, conditioner, video analyst .... the list went on and on. We did win a silver medal though, and Britain kept on winning medals in sports where we hadn’t traditionally been successful. I commentated for 10 hours per day on badminton and was struck by the fantastic fitness levels of the participants. It was the same in every sport. 29 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk As with many of us old timers I sometimes lament the lack of characters compared to “the good old days” but I have to concede that the athleticism and raw power of the modern sportsmen and women is phenomenal. Cricketers are all over six feet tall, and muscular, they dedicate their bodies to new training methods, and are nutritionally superior to players from fondly remembered past eras. I’m not sure they enjoy themselves as much, which is why on the odd occasion they do let their hair down (e.g. England’s Ashes winning side, and Team GB on the flight home from Brazil) they can’t hold their drink !  It’s always been a privilege watching the best, whatever the sport. You sometimes don’t need to be an expert to appreciate a unique talent. Maybe I’ll remember that the next time the ‘phone goes off and I get a nasty surprise. “John, there’s an emergency. Can you do the dressage?” of my life...