Because men all come and go

For cricket is never about one man.

Because men all come and go.

                                                                 

Gideon Haigh, The Times

Hi everyone !

Another Season over all far, far too quickly …

It was a very, very tense - and disappointing -  end to Season 2015.

Hampshire had looked certainties for relegation from Division 1 of the Championship. 26 points adrift at the bottom of the table as late as mid-July, they achieved one of the most successful turnarounds of recent seasons.

With three wins from their last five games and with Sussex losing their last game away to champion’s Yorkshire, Hampshire’s 163 points was two more than Sussex on 161, who were relegated along with Worcestershire.

So it is Division 2 for the Sharks in 2016.

Not much to recommend the lower division for the World’s Oldest Professional Cricket Club. 

But at least we get to play Kent; hopefully at the Nevill, where they “always” used to play when I was boy !!

In truth, 2015 wasn’t much of a season for Sussex. 

As well as relegation, and though we did get to the quarter finals of the t20, in the RL50 we only got any points from the three rain abandoned games !

But cricket for me is never just about results.

Thank you to all those who came along & watched with Lord Ric; perhaps for the first time or whether you started half a century ago and more.

(Come back soon, Young Man !!)

Though rained off games meant I didn’t get to Horsham or the Oval this year, there were lots and lots of days at my beloved Hove.
And the trips to the Ageas Bowl at Southampton, Arundel and Lords for day one of England v Australia in the Ashes.

And two wonderful sunny days with Old Chums at the Nevill.

And a very first trip to cricket – over 35 years since we first met - for Lady Piper for England women v the Aussies night game at Hove.

Indeed men all come and go and as with all seasons, we had to say goodbye:

To retiring players, such as Matt Prior and Mike Yardy, both legends from Sussex’s (latest) Golden Age.

And to those passing away, including Richie Benaud (for so long the Voice of Cricket on FreeToView: “Morning Everyone”) and Brian Close (who was playing for Yorkshire on my First Ever Visit to Hove in May 1960 and who may just have been a worse driver than me, if that’s possible!)

He once retrieved his car from the garage after major repairs, smacked into the back of a van within 100 yards of turning left out of the forecourt, did a U-turn at the first roundabout and checked it straight back in at the garage more surgery to the chassis.

Mike Walters, Daily Mirror

And to Anne Bowe, a close friend of Dianne’s from the Cancer Counselling group and a lifelong Leicestershire and David Gower fan.

Looking ahead to the Winter, I’m planning to have minor operations on both my eyes.

This season I haven’t really been able to read the scoreboard. 
I don’t think this has affected my blogs – quite frankly, Lord Ric blogs are never overly influenced by the exact details of the score!! 
But it became just too difficult to see out into the middle.

But before then, in mid-October I’m off to Pakistan v England at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, just down the road from where Nicole lives. 

Think of the trip as a training camp for the Ashes Down Under with Lord Ric in 2017/18 !!

Let’s keep in contact over the coming months.

And definitely see you up by the sight screen at the Cromwell Road end when the Season 2016 starts in April  !!

Why read a Lord Ric Cricket Blog, when you can be in one. ^©

See you soon !!

Lord Ric of Beckley Furnace

PS
Follow me on Twitter : LordRic52