My 2018 Cricket Season

Sitting here in my university room, 2018 cricket season’s an absolute lifetime ago, but 2019 season also seems a lifetime away as I eagerly await the start of the season again, so I thought this would a good time to reflect on my own 2018 season.

This season started with the inevitable, me lugging around revision guides and flashcards to Edgbaston to witness Warwickshire’s start to their promotion hopes. However, come July, textbooks were out the window, exams sat for the second time round and my summer was devoted to cricket, just for a change, and it was a full on season…

As always, a large part of my summer is spent cheering on, in my opinion, the best county in the country, Warwickshire, and this season was no different. Warwickshire are always my priority, whether they are home or away, we always make the effort to show our support. After a slightly disappointing previous season, I went into this year with hope that Warwickshire could return to Division 1 and secure promotion connivingly, and they just did that! In terms of red ball for Warwickshire, all season they displayed excellent performances to give them the deserved Division two title, and put them in the top tier, back where we belong! The team this year looked revitalised, with signings such as Will Rhodes & Dom Sibley making good first impressions and settling into the team very well. Veterans Trott and Bell showed that class truly is permanent as time and time again their incredible form was on display for everyone to see. Although, it wasn’t all cheerful, as Trott announced that this would be his last season for Warwickshire which was a sad day for us all, but watching him flourish in his farewell season was a pleasure. Its undoubtable that he will leave a huge hole at Edgbaston, both on and off the field but he has been an outstanding player for both England & Warwickshire and he deserves the upcoming rest I think!

  

Over to limited overs cricket for Warwickshire, which was less successful than the County Championship, as in the RLODC and T20 Blast, they failed to progress past group stage unfortunately. White ball cricket has always been a strength for Warwickshire, however this season it wasn’t to be, but next year we will come back stronger! This wasn’t to say there was some amazing performances, such as Ian Bell scoring a magnificent century in the Blast, against Northants where he scored 131 off 62 balls in front of an energetic (slightly inebriated) Hollies stand. Another stand out performance is the crowd at Edgbaston that Warwickshire fans immerse themselves in. The Hollies stand boasts one of the best atmosphere’s in cricket and this is no different for a T20 game at Edgbaston under the lights. The support for the lads is incredible, the chants are non – stop (We all love you Jeetan…oooohhh) and provides ample entertainment on a Friday night!

Watching Warwickshire for the majority of my cricket season is something which I love doing and one thing I miss more than anything during the off-season is the people that I am used seeing every week in the stands. I maintain the opinion that one of the best things about cricket is the people you meet through it, and these people continue to show me why. Edgbaston is one incredible cricket ground, and not a bad meeting spot either. These have been the making for some great cricket trips this year, from the beauty of Tunbridge Wells, the rivalry at Worcester and some midland trips to Nottingham and Derby.

My season isn’t complete either without the usual antics of travelling around the country to see England play, with this summer taking me of course to Edgbaston, as well as Trent Bridge and Southampton.  Firstly, it was the start of the ODI series against the strong India side at Trent Bridge, and for this game India proved to be too strong for England as they dominated the whole game and England slumped. However this game did prove to be an anomaly in the series as eventually England won 2-1 after some incredible white ball cricket from them after the slight slip at Trent Bridge.

Then came the first day of Edgbaston test match against India, where the brilliance of Sam Curran put us in strong position against India, although I was gutted that I couldn’t see the England victory in the final days of the test!

To conclude the India series, I took the trip down to Southampton with Lettie, which is always one of my favourite cricket weekends, and thanks to England winning the test series here, that isn’t changing soon! Nothing beats sitting in scorching hot weather, watching England on top in the test match and listening to the grumbles of the India fans whilst England fans are in full voice as we headed to another test series win. However, that weekend came with a bittersweet feeling, as when we departed Southampton it was announced that the next and final test of the summer would also be Cook’s last test for England, fair to say I got a few looks on the train having a little cry to myself…

This season was different for me though, as for the first time some of the time watching games was spent sat in the press box, reporting on the game. The opportunity to experience journalism in cricket was one that I welcomed with open arms and has been absolutely amazing this season. Therefore, special mention to everyone at Deep Extra Cover who have been so welcoming this season, put up with all of my rookie questions and gave me this chance! The opportunity from this has been something I could have only previously dreamt of, such as reporting on the prospect and trail days of the proposed ‘The Hundred’ format and getting to interview some of Warwickshire’s top performers. I always wondered what it would be like to be a journalist in cricket and this season I got a glimpse of it and realised its something I would love to continue. Plus, its quite funny to watch the shock on people’s faces when you tell them you write about cricket in your spare time and the reply is, ‘’but you’re a girl?’’, sorry is it really that hard to believe a girl can be into cricket these days!? It’s a good little bonus as well that when its freezing outside, I have the warm press box to sit and watch cricket from!

Now I’m at University Of Birmingham, and even closer to Edgbaston, bring on April when cricket will be back down the road and my summer devoted to cricket will continue…

2018 season, you were incredible…

Until 2019…

2017 Cricket Season

Every year I hear people talking about whether summer or winter is their favourite season, and I only have one answer, my favorite season is by far cricket season. From April through to September, my life revolves around fitting in going to any games I can around revision and work and spending many sunny afternoons or Friday nights at the cricket, either cheering on or moaning about my teams, definitely more of the latter this season. 2017 cricket season was a fabulous one with some new grounds visited and some amazing play witnessed... 

Firstly, I spend a large percentage of my cricket season supporting my home county, Warwickshire and this season, that hasn't been easy at some points. The county championship this year on my occasions proved painful to watch with loss after loss and that ended with us being relegated into Division 2, with serious improvements needed next season. This also was made no better by the numerous cold, and windy days in April where I went and froze at Edgbaston just to see our batting collapse. All I can say is, thank god for Jonathon Trott. After last year beating Surrey to become One Day Champions, we went into the RLODC  with a great win over Northants in out first game, however thats where the wins started and ended with us not managing to qualify for the quarters, meaning our title defence was over.

However, there was much more to shout about in our T20 campaign, where we made it all the way to the final! Many friday nights were spent cheering on our fresh and new look t20 team, with plenty of bursting talent such as Ed Pollock and Aaron Thomason, the team was playing some exciting and great cricket...finally! We got through the quarters final which was a tough contest from Surrey at The Oval, a game I had to unfortunately watch in a bar in Lanzarote while hearing how amazing it was from friends who were there, and we had reached Finals day, which after the season we had in other tournaments was a great thing to cheer about! Unfortunately losing to Notts in the final meant we missed out on the silverware, but we will be back next year to take it just like we did in 2014. Supporting Warwickshire this season has undoubtedly had its lows such as the low first innings totals, the freezing cold days, the lack of Ian Bell runs and relegation but on the plus side they offered free cake on the first day of each championship game so I am not complaining too much.

When I wasn't at a Warwickshire game, I was watching England in their international games, and first of this summer for me was the Champions Trophy game which provided a welcome day off work & revision. England Vs Australia, a full house at Edgbaston, a whole stadium displaying their dislike to the Aussies, what more could you want! The atmosphere at this game is up there with one of the best I have been involved in, as the Aussies continued to lose wickets, the fans continued to wave them off the pitch. Then came a magnificent Stokesy century before the rain came, but England had won! Beating the Aussies and knocking them out the tournament while we progressed equals a good day at the office!

A spontaneous cricket trip is always welcome as well, when it was decided to buy tickets for Day 4 of England Vs South Africa at Trent Bridge, I was completely up for this. The cricket was slightly disappointing as England had to bat out Day 4 & 5 to get a draw, but they only managed to just before tea on Day 4 and were bowled for 133. At least the sun was shining and it was the only day of cricket this year I managed to wear a skirt at without being cold and changing into jeans...so it was worth it! 

Through visiting various grounds this season I went down to visit one of my best friends, Lettie, who is a Kent supporter and we were going to The Oval test match together and she offered to show me Canterbury Cricket Ground, so of course I said yes. We took a trip to watch Kent Vs Somerset, and saw a Kent win, which apparently at the time was a rarity, much like Warwickshire so I would like to class myself as a Good Luck charm in the hope of going back. Canterbury is a lovely, sweet ground, and it made a nice change from a stadium to be able sit and watch the game from a grass bank, and Kent offered a free cider with every ticket, so that was an added bonus! 

In the trip to Lettie, we also went to The Oval to watch Day 2 of the England Vs South Africa test match, where we witnessed another amazing Stokesy century to dig England out of trouble, for the millionth time. I also met Joe Root at this game, and if you know me well, you'll know this did make my day when he was his always lovely self. This test was Toby Roland-Jones' debut test match as well, a massive occasion for him which he lived up to by taking a 5fer, of which we saw 4 of these wickets to have South Africa on the ropes! The Stokes innings and bowling performance from TRJ made this one hell of a day test cricket and was great to tick another new ground off this season, I would highly recommend a visit to The Oval as its a fab ground with some very funny stewards who provided plenty of entertainment at the lunch & tea intervals. 

My final England game of the summer was the First Day/Night Test Match in England, at my favourite ground of them all, Edgbaston. I was very excited for Edgbaston to be putting on this test match and was also excited to see the prospect of D/N test cricket in England. The verdict is, its bloody cold! It may work in Aus, but in England where we had to have a blanket over us, I am not so sure. Nevertheless, as we turned up and lighting was striking, I wasn't sure how much cricket we would actually see, but the sun came out and that allowed us to see one hell of an innings from Cooky, who scored 243, batted Chef! The rain however began to fall again and the actual night part of the test was rained off for that Day. There was nothing like a day of Test cricket to help get over the trauma of A-level results day which didn't go as planned. Cricket is always my go to when you need something to take your mind of something. The innings from Cooky was one of the best all season I have seen, an absolute masterclass from an absolute legend.

I always say one of the best things about cricket is the people you meet through it, and this cricket season I met some pretty hilarious and lovely people, as well as spending time with the long loved besties, who were always up for a drink or cocktail at the cricket! Meeting people through cricket is one of my favorite things as the people love the same thing you do, and getting to know them is brilliant as well. 

To celebrate the end of the season, we fancied a night at the Warwickshire End Of Season Dinner, to celebrate success, not that there was much but the free bar all night wasn't going to be passed up! I cant think of a better way to end the season than downing jagerbombs with the Warwickshire Lads, taking full advantage of the free bar! Thank you Warwickshire for filling the hefty bar tab, worth every penny of my membership...and thanks for the memories of the season. 

Cricket season 2017, you were a good one.

Until 2018...

Dublin

Take me home country roads...

Okay enough of the Irish music that is still circling my head after my visit to the Irish capital of Dublin. In February half term me and my friend Leah took a mini break to Dublin to celebrate my 18th, we thought where else to celebrate than the place with some of the liveliest nightlife! We had the most amazing time there with plenty of laughs, stories, memories and a few pints of Guinness to wash it all down...

We flew out of the Monday from Birmingham and I was so excited for my first taste of Ireland and especially Dublin for a birthday celebration. Once we landed in Dublin airport, I instantly felt like I was in heaven... because of the accent. Oh my god, its everywhere, and its perfection. People everywhere were speaking and I must have looked a moron just starring and listening...oops. Once we arrived in the city centre and found our Hotel, The Arlington Hotel which overlooked the river I began to relax and fell in love with the hustle and bustle of Dublin. After stocking up on the essentials from the supermarket...chocolate, crisps, alcohol...(like I said the essentials) we took a trip to visit the absolutely stunning Trinity College Dublin which is maybe the prettiest University I have ever seen. I wish to go to University of Birmingham which I thought was lovely, but this takes that to another level. Exploring the university made me want to be a student there so badly and seeing the beautiful cricket pitch and surroundings made me want to go even more! We then went on the hunt to find somewhere to eat and it didn't take us long to find a Nandos so that we were sorted. Temple Bar district wasn't very far away so we went for a couple of drinks around here, and the area is beautiful at night, with light hanging from bar to bar, the Irish music coming through from the various bars and the atmosphere filling the streets, it just gave me another reason to love this place. 

As Leah had been to Dublin before she had a few places that she wanted to visit and after describing the most lovely restaurant, I was 100% up for a full Irish breakfast, which didn't disappoint that's for sure! We went to a restaurant called Sophie's which had some beautiful decor, with rose gold bar taps (this makes me very happy as I am obsessed with rose gold everything) and the rooftop 360 degree views of Dublin, plus one of the nicest breakfast that I have ever tasted. More exploring led us to Grafton Street, where there is a plethora of High Street shops mixed with some more high end shops which we were more than happy to browse around - The Dublin Disney Store is one of the best I have been into and their take on Selfridges is just perfection. To be a full tourist, a trip to Dublin wouldn't be complete without a trip the Guinness Storehouse. I can now proudly say that I am fully qualified in pouring the perfect pint of Guinness now after some very technical lessons in the Guinness academy. The tour of the brewing and history of Guinness is actually really interesting but the highlight is the Skyline Gravity Bar which boasts mile views of Dublin and also plays the best music...I was very content sitting with my pint and listening to the Westlife they were playing. At night we went to see the hilarious Jack Whitehall at the 3arena in the Point Harbor  but first took a trip to The Oval Bar, I couldn't not go in the pub named after the cricket ground! Jack was absolutely amazing, he reduced me to tears with his stand up and him slagging of Brexit to the Irish made it all the more hilarious. 

The Wednesday we visited the Leprechaun museum which was interesting to say the least...I thought it was a tour of little things leprechaun size but instead its a storytelling tour about legends & fairies, but the big chairs were great nevertheless, once I had managed to get up the thing, I have to admit it was not my finest hour trying to push myself up. As we were close to the Jervis Shopping Centre, we managed to squeeze in some time for some retail therapy - had to experience the Irish Primarks, Penny's which is just the exact same as Primark here, but oh well. Again we experienced the amazing Dublin nightlife Wednesday when meeting up with some of Leah's friends and I was completely allured once again by the charm of the bars, pubs, food, people and music. The nicest strawberry daiquiri graced our table and the loveliest Irish singers graced the stage in our hotel bar, where we laughed and sung until the early hours of the morning.  After Leah had got them to embarrassingly to sing happy birthday to me they played some of my favourite songs and my Dublin holiday was made by hearing Country Roads. This has got to be one of the things I love about the city, the sound of all the music playing from all the bars with so many musicians loving what they do and love seeing people enjoying themselves, the culture over there is quite frankly exceptional with everyone so friendly and welcoming and their idea of just being up for a good time. As we headed to bed, after guiding Leah back to the room and to her dismay, stopping her skipping down the hotel corridors singing I'll Tell Me Ma, we heard that Storm Doris was on its way so to expect delays tomorrow flying home...and delays is what we got. 

After seeing cancelled flight after cancelled flight in the morning as we both were constantly checking our flight to get home I was just glad to see that our flight was on time and boarding. Priorities were noted and we headed to get some food first and as we queued to board and after being given many updates from home via mum she told me many flights trying to land in Birmingham had to be diverted because it was too windy (Mum knows how to calm down her daughter who she knows is a nervous flyer before taking off into a storm doesn't she). Safe to say the flight wast the smoothest I have ever been on...after the most turbulent flight, with the plane being thrown around in the wind and 2 failed landing attempts in Birmingham we found ourselves on the way to Bristol airport. Guys, when a airline says ''sourcing coaches'' don't believe them, 5 hours later. these coaches were eventually sourced and after the 4 hour journey back to Birmingham Airport, I was very glad to be back in my dads car. although I don't think he enjoyed his 2 hour wait at the station...blame Doris dad! So 11 hours later than planned I was home, with a story to tell, plenty of amazing memories, a new city ticked off, the urge to travel more and one hell of an 18th celebration to remember. 

Dublin was an amazing city to visit, and its somewhere once you have visited once you want to go back to again and again to experience the atmosphere, attractions and of course the nightlife. Its Irish charm shines throughout the streets and comes from every corner of the city. The Irish hospitality certainly didn't disappoint either with the accent being one of many highlights and the people's welcoming charm it was hard not to fall in love with the city, and not even Storm Doris could ruin it. 

Until next time Dublin...