We're back: A fan's eye view of county cricket supporters' long-awaited return

OSCAR RATCLIFFE: There is genuine delight at the resumption of friendships, a lot of chatter about double-jabs, a smattering of meditations on the solitude of lockdown and, from Surrey stalwarts, timely reminders of Middlesex's poor form with the bat

London, 21 May 2020. It’s 27 degrees Celsius – weather tailor-made for a day at The Oval. Or Taunton. Or Headingley. But the idea of live sport, let alone a day imbibing the gentle rhythms of the County Championship, couldn’t seem more distant. 

In those sunny yet infinitely dark peak-pandemic days, county fans could have been forgiven for wondering whether they would ever set foot in a ground again. But in their fantasy of that glorious return –  thermos in one hand, Playfair Cricket Annual in the other –  you can bet the sun was shining. 

One year hence and our meteorological overlord is in a particularly sadistic mood. Because on the day of spectators’ re-entry it’s grey, windy and due to cack it down at about 3pm. It’s a good thing cricket people are a hardy lot. 

Walking from Vauxhall the pangs of excitement always kick in as The Oval’s floodlights come into view at the top of Harleyford Road. But today there’s a marked energy to the stream flowing towards The Alec Stewart Gate.

It’s 9:45 am. Sure, the toss is at 10:30, but everyone has tickets and, due to social distancing measures, designated seats. On today of all days, the urgency on display isn’t really serving any purpose. No, the prognosis here is simple – widespread infantilisation. Because from pensioner to student, everyone pacing down that road, steps lengthening past The Beehive and St Mark’s Primary, is a kid at Christmas.  

Cricket grounds on Championship days have a rare intimacy. Many members have been watching the game together for eons. Perhaps, in some instances, it is a purely cricketing relationship, the type that won’t extend far beyond Kennington’s arena. The kind that falls by the wayside when your interactions are limited by law to groups of six. As people mill about there is genuine delight at the resumption of these friendships: a lot of chatter about double-jabs, a smattering of meditations on the solitude of lockdown and then, from a few Surrey stalwarts, some timely reminders of just how useless Middlesex have been with the bat this season. 

^{Fans returned to watch County Championship cricket last week}

It’s now 15 minutes until the toss and the squadrons of staff manning the various bars are readying themselves. This is not just a comeback for the spectators, but also those whose jobs depend on their attendance. To see these teams gearing up for something resembling a normal day’s work brings its own comfort. 

Today I’m in the newly-named JM Finn Stand and, officially at least, am sitting alone. Of course, anyone who has braved a county game solo knows that company is never too far away.  One of the great pleasures of a day’s cricket is intermittent conversations with fellow passengers. It’s the type of behaviour that usually makes Brits wince but a cricket ground is a strange place with stranger rules. Sat five seats down is a chap brandishing some heavy duty binoculars and wearing a bucket hat emblazoned with a Barbados flag. We exchange ‘mornings’ – a tacit acknowledgment that by the close of play we’ll have put cricket and, indeed, the world to rights without ever having learnt each other’s names.  

With the toss imminent Rory Burns and Peter Handscomb are chatting.

During the pandemic, pros were accessible in an unprecedented way. The convenience of Zoom calls coupled with a void of free time to fill before the start of the curtailed 2020 season led to players engaging with fans via myriad podcasts and live streams.

County cricketers have never needed much humanising, they are a pretty down-to-earth bunch on the whole, but during those months locked away, out of work and bored at home like the rest of us, their relatability peaked. Fun and insightful though that time was, watching the captains laugh and joke here displayed a quality that’s strangely reassuring.

These are two players who have competed in Test cricket and performed in front of thousands. It’s Australia’s Handscomb and England’s Burns, capped at the highest level. Part of the allure of watching county cricket live has always been seeing the best in the flesh. A bit of an aura is no bad thing: it might even be why some of us pay the entrance fee. 

Middlesex win the toss and bowl under skies which scream ‘caught Simpson bowled Murtagh’.  Block 4 of the JM Finn is about as side-on as you can get at The Oval. Having got by, behind the bowler’s arm, on a diet of live streams it makes a welcome change. From this angle the spectacle takes on a different dimension. 

^{Supporters watch on at The Oval}

Peripheral fielders, ignored by the cameras, get a fair hearing. The way they carry themselves and interact paints a picture. There’s an authenticity here. You’re reminded that this is the same game that us amateurs play each weekend. 

First ball Tim Murtagh trundles in and immediately raps Burns on the pad. The Middlesex fielders go up in unison.  Close, but turned down. The 39-year-old repeats the trick the very next delivery: a punchier shout and again no dice. As feared, the seamer is causing issues. 

After a few overs there’s an eerie atmosphere in the ground. Something doesn’t feel quite right. Perhaps it’s that most of the cohort are Surrey members. There’s been some polite clapping, but not much to cheer from a Brown Cap perspective. For all the goodwill that comes with being back in a ground for the first time in months, the crowd are still desperate for their side to best their rivals. We’ve waited a long time to indulge in something so trivial. 

And then it happens. Ethan Bamber drops short for the first time. Mark Stoneman is on it in a flash, rocks back and slams it to the midwicket boundary. 

“Shot!”, groans the ground. 

We’re back.

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