ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER WORLD

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending a day at the cricket, thanks to the generosity of an old friend who is a Member of Kent County Cricket Club. It was the third day of the four-day game between Kent and Hampshire, played at the St. Lawrence Ground, Canterbury.

I`ll just get the result out of the way - late this afternoon, I learned that the game ended in an honourable draw - now, what other game in the world could last for four days and not reach a conclusion? And which other spectators would turn up in droves knowing that they were merely dipping in to just a part of a sporting contest?

Apart from the cricket itself, there are three other aspects of my day that I found interesting. The first was the ground itself - a traditional, provincial county ground in the leafy suburbs of the city; an immaculate playing surface; the pavilions and grandstands displaying a pleasingly mixed architecture whilst at the same time acknowledging past heroes of Kent cricket - `The Les Ames Stand` `The Colin Cowdrey Stand` and `The Frank Woolley Stand` being just three examples; and an eccentricity in the form of a lime tree, which is sometimes situated within the boundary and thus in the field of play, depending on where the boundary rope is placed.

Next, as the day progressed, I became more aware of the `environment` into which I had stumbled. It had been a while since I spent a whole day at the cricket and I was perhaps unprepared for the `atmosphere` in the ground and among the spectators, which was relaxed, even perhaps drifting beguilingly close to torpor as the day wore on. There was good conversation, a deep knowledge and love of the game, there were excellent facilities and quite the most refined and understated public address announcements I have ever heard.

It was almost like being in another world - a parallel universe - where it seemed that events within the confines of the ground were the only things that really mattered, perhaps the only things within one`s consciousness, where timescales and the pace of life were determined by the sessions of play and nothing, but nothing that may have been happening in the `wider world` was really of any consequence. Truly a refuge from a frantic world.

Lastly, a word or three about just one of the players. Without in any way diminishing the respect I have for each of the players on both teams, it was the irrepressible Shane Warne who took my eye. Not so much for his performance on the day (he trundled down 37 overs and managed just one wicket for 142 runs) but for the sheer privilege of again seeing one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. This is a guy who has taken 708 Test Match wickets for Australia and yet, as captain of Hampshire, here he was on a blissful Friday afternoon still showing all of the passion, determination, skill and effort that have been the hallmark of his distinguished career.

My day in the sun was not just another day but a day in another world, in which I hope to take up residence more often......if only the summers didn`t go by so quickly.

(click on photos for larger images)