Almost everything I want to say about these three days, I wrote up for King Cricket. I wrote this match up as two pieces at the time…
…but when it came to publication, more than a year later in September 2023, King Cricket in his wisdom decided to combine the two, which worked rather well:
If anything were ever to befall the King Cricket site, you can still see that page here.
Here is my only abiding memory from those three days which is not in the King Cricket report. While playing tennis on the third day, I failed to get out of the way of a very firmly struck ball, from the racket of James Leeper. I wore that ball on the shin and ended up with the largest and most intransigent haematoma I have ever had, from cricket ball or tennis ball. James still seems to stifle a laugh rather than apologise again, when I tell that tale in front of him.
Thus, I emerged bruised from the tennis court that Day Three afternoon, only to discover that England had been severely bruised in the ego by losing to South Africa in such short shrift. That was a somewhat ignominious end to the event for me. Yet, I look back on those three days with fondness, as I more or less always do after spending extended time at Lord’s.
