Navigating the Cricket-life balance
Our Summer Tradition
And they say you only get 18 summers with your parents.. 18 summer holidays.. well here I am 29 years later holidaying with my mum, dad and sister and believe me when I say I won’t be stopping.
I absolutely love it, it’s what we do as a family but I also know that cricket has helped shape it. It has become our summers. Our summer holiday is with each other. Would things be different if Tyler didn’t play cricket… probably. I mean it wouldn’t have stopped us holidaying together but it would have definitely disrupted things a little and probably wouldn’t be an annual trip.
The other biggy is my sister is also a cricket widow so we are both wanting and needing someone to go on holiday with, in the peak of summer and well my mum and dad actually now don’t know a life without us on a holiday so it’s a no brainer and I think they’d be pretty bored without us!.. I may be wrong!
I feel very grateful to have such a supportive family and it wouldn’t feel right anymore us not having our family holidays so here’s to the next 29 years! It’s now become a very special family tradition… a few days of paella, sangria and sunshine!
One Weekend Away
I talked this week about missing a game or not choosing to go to cricket one weekend and then not really knowing what to do with myself. Last weekend I didn’t plan anything and just felt like a weekend off but it got to Sunday evening and rather than enjoying being away from the club I actually felt like I had completely wasted my weekend.
I felt like I’d missed out on socialising with everyone. I also hadn’t seen Tyler since Friday afternoon. So you get that feeling like you’ve wasted your weekend time but also wasted time to spend with them, even though the time you normally spend with them is pretty much just staring at them for 8 hours… not quality time but it’s better than nothing at all.
Do we go to the club all the time to just be with them, do we go to the club because we love the club environment or do we go to the club because we love cricket?
I do think mine’s the first one (throw in any other options if you have any), and with it comes the second but I wouldn’t go to cricket if T wasn’t playing so I can definitely rule the last one out. I like cricket but I enjoy it when I’m watching people I know… I don’t think I’d choose to go at random.
I am a strong advocate for living your own life and doing your own thing too… finding a healthy cricket-life balance! But seeing why I go to the club is pretty much 100% because of T I start questioning if I am getting the balance right.
This season I have been at the club so much because that is the only time I see Tyler.
We have only had 1 not double-header weekend. I know myself it has become my comfort blanket. Which is lovely but the routine of knowing I can just turn up, plonk myself on my picnic blanket and that be it for the day, I actually haven’t done anything else! I haven’t really arranged other activities or social get-togethers, and ultimately it’s probably because I know I won’t see Tyler at all. I think my confidence in doing this has declined slightly this year.
Maybe I am not giving myself enough credit. We have joined a new club this year and the first year is always going to take time to settle. You have to find your feet, put in a lot of effort and become involved in the club. Not just for me but for T too. Walking into a captain role and being pro is a lot to take on and that’s been a whole learning curve in itself.
Life with a Cricket Captain
Being the cricket widow of a cricket captain is intense. I can’t really describe how much more of a load there is to take on. Cricket is a lot for all of us. They eat, sleep and breathe it. So imagine that and then imagine thinking about that for not just them but for 10 other players. Then think about also being a ‘part time’ groundsman, club coach, selector, match reporter, committee pleaser and then repeat it every single week.
T also coaches and organises our women’s team whilst having a full-time job. When I write it down I think bloody hell and I am so proud of what he takes on and I know that’s exactly what I would do too but my god it is a lot.
Before the game you’re running through every scenario, which wicket to play on, what’s the batting line up, who’s opening, what are we doing if we win the toss… and suddenly your Sunday morning ‘you time’ breakfast becomes you just nodding along and sipping your iced latte. And the thing is you actually can’t complain because if there was that much going on in my head and someone was trying to tell me about the colour of paint Ela has chosen for her mantle piece well I mean come on!
And then after the game you think about all of the above, dissect it and think about what you would do differently next week, as well as watching every ball back on Play-Cricket, checking all the other league results and building back up the players threatening to quit after not a great weekend at the office.
We have navigated this for four months thus far. So I know when it’s probably too much to ask for a holiday this year. And also have temporarily tapped out of Sunday morning breakfasts just to protect my little bubble.
I admire it.
Struggle with it.
Understand it.
And don’t compete with it all in one… if that makes sense.
Or not… but I think it does to me ahaha!
Maybe that’s what the cricket-life balance actually is. Not trying to choose between cricket and your own life, but recognising that the balance changes throughout the season. Some weeks you’ll need more cricket, some weeks you’ll need more you.
I don’t think I’ve found the answer just yet.. but I do know it’s something I’ll keep working on.
P.s that caption just came to me and now I feel it just HAS to become a weekly catch-up!.. leave it with me!
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