English County season bathed in sunshine

The World Cup has ended, followed by the inevitable post mortem on its success or in this case, reasons for its lack of success, which will no doubt continue for a while. Teams return home for a well deserved rest and reflection on their individual performance. It is a time to regroup and start afresh for most teams, with many changes in personnel, heralding a new way forward and planning for the next four years.

The focus in England is on the new domestic county season. This is usually a damp and cold affair, with hardly any play due to the weather and one man and his loyal dog in attendance in a mid week championship game. The football season also overshadows it as it is reaching its climax, with titles and crucial relegation and promotion issues to be decided. Cricket has always been a poor relative to football and only emerges out of the shadow when the sun finally comes out in mid summer and football is having its annual summer break.

This year there has been glorious sunshine to herald the start of the cricket season and this always adds that extra buzz and excitement to events. Large crowds have been in attendance at the weekends to make the most of the weather. Many have been enjoying those delicious cream teas renowned in this part of the world.

The players are also raring to go after a long winter break for many and there is the usual change in personnel in each team which takes time to settle. There are as usual, a host of overseas international players in the county circuit, at least two in each team, to add to the attraction. Many hope to gain valuable experience playing in these conditions and improve their game.

I am hoping to catch some games away from the international stage and take in the beautiful English countryside at the same time. It is a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the international stage, especially the recent World Cup, which has not been a good advertisment for the game, where the focus was on revenue generation, with the game of cricket coming a very sorry second. Hopefully watching the game in its more pure form, away from those greedy men in suits, will reinforce and renew my love for the game.