89 Not Out: Day 35, It’s Just Not Cricket, Or Is It?

S&C contributor and Pompey Politics Podcast host Ian Morris shares his experience of the lockdown, as someone with diabetes. It’s Day 35 and Ian tries something he always vowed he’d never go near – but life changes fast in lockdown.

Sunday 19th April, Day 35 of 89 

It has come to this.

One of the things I miss more than anything is live sport. I have always loved sport and right now, we would usually be moving into the business end of the rugby season and the start of the cricket season.

One thing that has always baffled me is E-Sports. For those of you not familiar with this, it involves people playing a  computer game, and other people paying to watch. I kid you not. My eldest at one point was into Counter Strike GO, a team-based shoot ‘em up game; and he and his team made it to the UK finals, held over a weekend at the NEC in Birmingham. Stranger than that, they have attended tournaments in Wembley and Cologne to watch the best in the business play the game, and the money on offer to the best teams is eye watering: a cool £250,000 for the winning quartet in Germany.  

It all seemed like madness to me until Sunday, when Facebook told me Hampshire were about to play their 3rd match in the Quarantine Cup, with the game being played virtually between 2 members of the Hampshire and Gloucestershire team.

I was in, I was hooked.

As we dropped a couple of catches, I got that ‘Aaagh, no’ feeling that every sports fan will recognise. I found, to my shame, that I had become genuinely invested in listening to the commentary. Yes they had commentators from Test Match Special, of 2 men playing a computer-based cricket game. 

I  realised this had gone too far, and I won’t do it again. Hampshire were rubbish and got stuffed.

Well the again, maybe, let’s just see when that next game is… 

 

Want to see the match for yourself? Watch the playback from The Cricketer on YouTube, and catch all the past games over at their channel!

 

Don’t miss Ian’s diary each day, keep an eye out for new entries here, along with past editions of the Pompey Politics Podcast. How are you managing the lockdown at the moment? Get in touch with us over on Facebook or Twitter and let us know your experiences and any hints and tips you’re finding helpful right now.

Image by tombrooks from Pixabay.

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