ASHES TO ASHES

I love cricket – not the game as such, more the culture surrounding it.  In other words, forget the bat and ball, but just enjoy the experience, and of course the amazing tea.

Firstly, there’s the outfit.   For me, there is nothing like the sight of a good looking, tanned and toned man in cream flannel, with his shirt rolled to just below the elbows showing just a hint of golden skin and bleached blonde hair, fondly stroking the ball on his thigh…

And then there’s the terminology….  where else would you find expressions like ‘tea in the pavilion’, ‘bowling a maiden over’, ‘googlies’, ‘in the nets’,   ‘the thwack of leather on willow’ and ‘not out’, if not on the village green on a balmy Sunday evening? 

This is England in all her glory, Midsomer Murders come to life.  Style, tradition and good ol’ no nonsense cooking.  Picnics on the outfield with cucumber sandwiches, pork pies, cream teas, Victoria sandwich cake all washed down with the wonderful mellifluous voice of ‘Johners’, sadly no longer with us.

So all of you out there who haven’t given cricket a go, or who don’t think of cricket as sexy, think again.  You have no idea what you are missing.