So today "I'm so so sorry" but I'm going to talk about cricket.
To me it's the purist of sport and yesterday we travelled to Nottingham to see England struggle against New Zealand. But for some inexplicable reason England didn't struggle. They piled on the runs and it was great to be able to see the world's best batsman in imperious form. Joe Root now plays the game with a broad smile on his face since he stopped being captain. One of the best images from the day was his reaction when Ollie Pope completed a century. It was a quick run and Pope ended up well past the other end. Root sprinted after him and gave him a massive hug. It was the re-action of a team man and somebody who genuinely cares about his role in the England team and of course he is currently the best batsman in the world.
My love of cricket started at junior school. I played for the school team and continued that when I moved up to grammar school where I represented Norwich School at Under-11, Under-12 and Under-13 levels. Then I had to decide whether to continue playing cricket at school in the summer or whether to switch to tennis. It was a very hard decision as I loved playing both. But I turned to tennis and represented the school at both junior and senior level.
I have always loved the history of the game of cricket. I also grew up with Test Match Special which has always been - well special.
For those without an interest in cricket let me tell you about Test Match Special or TMS as it's known. This was not just about cricket. It was about brilliant broadcasting. You will know that essentially cricket is a slow game with lots of pauses and quiet periods. That's where the TMS team has come in. They fill the pauses with talk about cricket and anything else that comes into their mind.
There were the great cricket broadcasters like John Arlott and Richie Benaud. Then there were the great broadcasters who turned TMS into an art form. Legendary amongst these were Brian Johnston and Henry Blofeld. Sadly the former is no longer with us and the latter is semi-retired, a proud Norfolk man. Both had wonderful broadcasting voices and immense senses of humour. Brian Johnston played practical jokes. He also dissolved into hysterical laughter at the drop of a hat.
He came up with some pearlers including the phrase: "Botham couldn't get his leg over" when Ian Botham trod on his own wicket. If you want to have a laugh look this up on You Tube. The whole TMS box broke down in giggles and it was a couple of minutes before anyone could get back to reporting on the cricket. Then on another occasion he came up with the classic "The batsman's holding the bowler's Willy" which was a reference to Michael Holding of the West Indies being bowled to by Peter Willey of England.
Listeners to TMS used to send Brian Johnston chocolate cake after he announced his love of it on air. So one day Brian offered cake round the TMS broadcasting box and made sure that fellow broadcaster Freddy Trueman (one of England's all time great fast bowlers who was known as Fiery Fred for both his bowling and his gruff Yorkshire nature) had a large piece. Trueman happily took a large mouthful at which time Brian handed over to him for commentary. Fred was left spluttering and quickly trying to swallow the cake as all the other broadcasters, who were in on the prank, left the box.
I love cricket because it has a heart and it has a humour and charm all of its own. Yesterday at the test was a really good day and one I will cherish for some time. A friend of mine recently said he would rather boil his head than spend a say watching cricket. Pass the salt anyone.