Day 55 - A Fun Day of Cricket

​Maybe it is because my expectations are now a lot lower, but I think today might have been my favourite day of cricket to watch so far. I woke up this morning with a bit of a cold and feeling a bit ‘meh’, and was imagining that watching Head and Carey smash the ball to all parts of the ground might not improve things, but actually it has been a good day.

I had wondered about doing Parkrun today, but it felt a bit too tight time-wise, and maybe not a good idea with my lungs struggling a little. So instead I could take things a bit easier this morning. 

I really do love the walk to the ground through the city centre, and the weather today has been absolutely perfect. The ground was also a bit quieter today, which also added to the chilled vibes.


Whilst Carey and Head did put on a few runs, after Head eventually holed out for 170, England took 6 quick wickets. It was brilliant to watch them bowl well and to get rewards for it. We all knew that 435 was ridiculously unlikely, but the strange thing about this England team is that you never entirely count them out.


Duckett getting out before lunch was not ideal, but there were genuine moments of hope in the afternoon. It was really sad to see Pope fall to a sensational catch by Labuschagne, but while Crawley and Root were batting you did just start to wonder what might be possible…..


It wasn’t until Lyon took three quick wickets in the evening that the wind really left England’s sails. Still though, they have taken it to a fifth day and just need 228 runs with 4 wickets remaining….

After the close of play, I made a quick stop for some Christmas shopping (shhhh!) before meeting John Gent and John Gould to go out for dinner with them and John (Gent)’s cousin and son. We had a lovely meal and it was a lot of fun to catch up with the JGs!


It is now bedtime for me as I am hoping to get to a geocaching event in the morning before seeing the last rites of England’s ashes hopes. 

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