Every club had its heroes this summer, however unsung they may be

THE CRICKETER'S HEROES OF 2020: There are too many to name, too many to mention. And in the amateur game, that lesson can never be taught too often

HEROES OF 2020: Steve Elworthy, by Nick Howson

HEROES OF 2020: Bready CC, by Oliver Thorpe

HEROES OF 2020: The village volunteer, by Sam Morshead

In a summer full of heroes, indulge this image. I couldn’t choose just one, so instead I wanted to paint a picture that might resonate further afield.

I remember the first ball of my season: a shin-high full toss pushed straight to midwicket for no run under a sun-soaked sky on July’s third Saturday. “Three months we’ve built up for that – hardly worth the wait,” we joked.

Four hours later, I came to the crease to open our innings. For weeks, the mantra had been the same: after an eight-week delay, just survive that first delivery. I did – just about, digging out an in-swinging yorker and breathing an immediate sigh of relief.

We lost that day, but mainly – I’d add with the benefit of hindsight – because we went about our chase in the manner of a side just thrilled to be back out there: four men out slog-sweeping, another caught at long-off, ultimately 30 runs short with 19 overs left untouched.

Even as wickets tumbled and a brazen sense of kamikaze passed like an unstoppable current from one batsman to the next, I don’t recall a moment where the recklessness of our collapse seemed to hit us. In any other year, we would have stewed on such a defeat for weeks. But this time, and forgive the cliché, it really was just a pleasure to be out there again.

Amateur cricket never quite disappeared; rather, it just didn’t come back from an extended winter. Ever since clubhouses had been tidied up for the previous winter, the game sat patiently for the green light to return. Plans for the latter stages of pre-season were curtailed by the initial spread of the pandemic; leagues announced postponements; overseas players deferred deals until more normal times; pavilions – the lifeblood of the grounds that run our summer – remained shut.

^{My club (below), North Middlesex, came through the summer thanks to the tireless work of countless individuals}

Club cricket is summer and summer is club cricket. The thought of one without the other is a confusing, troubling quandary. Between April and September, Saturday is king and everything else is secondary – perhaps I care too much. But even then, I know that I speak for many thousands nationwide who are bound in friendship by these weekends.

Each year, we wonder why we bother, before rolling through the front gates, week upon week. A game missed is a memory lost, and that threat is too much for many of us to bear. The consequence? We keep coming back.

And so, my heroes of the summer are all those who gave us the chance to play our game.

Every member of every committee that worked tirelessly to keep their club going through lockdown.

Each groundsman who sat on his roller, preparing wickets for a season he couldn’t be sure would ever come.

League officials who put in place several scenarios and planned for each eventuality.

Umpires who, given what we know of this virus, might have been forgiven for opting out.

All those who missed out as they shielded in line with government advice, watching on from afar with envy and admirable restraint.

ECB executives, who railed against government statements, often contradictory and directly from the mouth of the prime minister.

Junior coaches who packed entire campaigns into August, desperate to ensure their youngsters didn’t miss out; everyone who had a part to play.

There are too many to name, too many to mention, however unsung they may be. And in the amateur game, that lesson can never be taught too often.

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