An Ode to Cricket Scotland from its very own Cricket Fan
THAT EARLY FEELING....
It might be an early morning train from Aberdeen, an overnight car journey from the south of England, or a dash across Scotland from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Sometimes it’s in the evening, other times the afternoon, and often Saturday and Sunday. You travel constantly – so much so that, sometimes, you wonder where you are going and why. And then there’s the gym – and the fees, and the challenge of all that exercise away from the others when you can’t make it south, or east, or north.
You’ve become quite well known to your boss, on account of all the negotiations about holiday time, unpaid leave, and blocks of absence. She seldom mentions promotion or job prospects, but sometimes you wonder. And sometimes there is no work.
Your partner is understanding, long suffering, and incredibly supportive – but your weekends together are few and far between, and presents from Dubai and Africa don’t really make up for that.
Another five years and you’ll be thirty – most of your mates will be partners in their firms by then, or set up on their own, or looking for a house with a garden for kids. The others will be well known about town, partying as hard as they work, or setting off on some amazing solo project….and you’ll just be starting again.
You’ve had glimpses of better: a couple of contracts down south, two or three years of stability, months when you were just a slice of luck away from a whole different lifestyle. But it’s competitive and so unpredictable – you’re in favour one year, ignored the next – and sometimes you don’t know why. And it’s more travel, more time away from home, more promises that may never be kept.
Nobody ever uses the word, at least not to your face, but it’s a selfish way of life – unless you can make something of it. But you know that no matter hard you try, how high your commitment, how prominent your talent – in the end your future will be determined by men far away with a different take on your world.
However, ultimately, it’s the life you have chosen, and lots of folk are far worse off. Together with the rest of the guys, building friendships, bonding, supporting each other – through the highs and the lows – all of that is a privilege, often pure joy, and you know you’re lucky to have it. But, without progression, without a decent wage, with nothing in return, it can seem like boys’stuff: forever a 19 year old in an ageing body.
When it stops, what will be left?
How will you justify that lifestyle, that devourer of your twenties, and maybe, if you’re lucky, most of your thirties?
You could give back, by supporting others into the same lifestyle, if you can truly look them in the eye and tell them it will definitely be worth it. You could remember the saltire flying above you, the power of “Flower of Scotland” as you huddle in the dressing room, the pride you feel to be representing your country, to be a part of the few, representing the many.
Most of all, clear eyed and clear headed, you could remember that you love cricket, love playing the game, promoting it, encouraging others, and hopefully inspiring them to share those same highs and lows, those extremities of emotion, and the joy of physical and mental coordination.
You play for Scotland because you love it all, the challenges – internal as well as external, the team work, the fight to improve, the need for self discipline, the opportunity to play for the supporters, the fans, the administrators, club members and volunteers – the whole of the cricket community. All of this is a privilege you are proud to accept, and those who love you and care about you, in turn, accept it is who you are, and what you want to do.
While it makes for a challenging life and difficult choices, there’s also something precious about being amongst the very few elite sports people who can demonstrate they play largely for the love of their sport.
So you will carry on. You will thole the missed catches, the poor decisions, the balls that keep low, and the late night motorway driving. You will get in the faces of those who are paid a handsome wage to enjoy this lifestyle, you will prove you are as good as them, if not better. You will face your mid thirties when you come to them, and when you put on that cap with the thistle, you will give your all for Scotland.
This will be your motivation and your inspiration. You will not let down your team mates, your families, or your country. You will do whatever it takes. And those who know you will love you for it, and those who support you will admire you for it, and when you hear the applause as your boots clack down the pavilion steps, please God, you will know it is worth it.
So when it comes to it – when the nation’s media provide poor coverage, claiming nobody is interested, when the ICC cave in to the free marketeers for whom sport is merely an advertising opportunity, when competitions are organised in the interests of others, when funding and fixtures go elsewhere, when highly paid opponents belittle your efforts, when the hill to full member status seems steeper than ever, you will do what we have come to expect of our Cricket Scotland heroes – you’ll send them hameward to think again!
And we’ll still be proud to Follow Scotland.
You can read more from this fan on his personal blog https://blogfeast.wordpress.com/
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